timshel
by doodlechick12
Summary: Post "broken crown," Stephanie is free from Klaus' compulsion and must rebuild her relationships with her friends and her brother, while fighting her bloodlust every minute of every day. "Want to tell me how you're here, Steph?" Elena asked after a moment. "I mean, last we saw each other, you were kind of . . ." "A raging, psychotic bitch?" "Pretty much, yes." Genderbent AU.
1. as deep as a bite, as dark as the night

Notes: Thanks for continuing to read, everyone! I hope you enjoy this story as much (if not more) than the last ones. I'm thinking for this one that each chapter will be an episode (for the most part) which will help me get the chapters up in a more timely manner (as opposed to two episodes per chapter) because it will take less time to write a 5 – 6k chapter than a 9 – 10K one. I'll do it for this first chapter, and if you'd all let me know which you prefer, that would be great.

Disclaimer: Obviously, I still don't own the _Vampire Diaries_ or any quotes used/borrowed.

* * *

**as deep as a bite, as dark as the night**

"_Pass me that lovely little gun  
My dear, my darling one  
The cleaners are coming, one by one  
You don't even want to let them start."_

_._

_._

_._

Elena woke up, blinking at a white and fuzzy ceiling with the knowledge that she was forgetting something incredibly important. Someone was holding her hand – someone with pale, slender fingers that held a certain amount of strength but also gentleness whenever they touched her. She blinked rapidly, eyes clearing enough to make out Damon. His blue eyes were focused unnervingly on her, intense and worried. She wanted to pat his shoulder, kiss him softly and say _I'm fine, you silly man_, but the words would not come and she found that her strength was lacking.

She must have made some noise though because immediately Damon perked up and leaned toward her eagerly. He reached out a hand and softly stroked her cheek with one chilled finger and Elena leaned into the touch.

"Damon," She breathed and her eyes fluttered closed. Elena searched her memory for something, that one important thing that she was forgetting . . .

"Elena," Damon's voice was husky with an angry undertone. "How do you feel?"

Elena looked for a word to describe the sensations she was beginning to experience but couldn't settle on anything but, "Weird."

Damon's mouth twisted. "That's normal." Elena tilted her head and began to sit up in her bed – and it _was_ her bed at the Gilbert house and not the one she shared often with Damon at his home – and frowned.

Thump.

Thump. Thump.

Thump.

Thump. Thump. In addition, there was a buzzing in her ear and was – were those sirens? What was going on?

"Damon?" Elena's breathing quickened. "Damon, what happened?"

"Hey, hey, it's okay," Damon sat on the bed and murmured quietly, a rare expression of tenderness on his face and in his gestures. "You've been in and out pretty much all morning."

"Damon?" Elena repeated sharply, "What happened?"

Thump. Thump. Thump.

"And what is that _noise_?" She demanded loudly. Her memories were beginning to come back rapidly and her heart beat, originally extremely slow, was skyrocketing. Hospital bed bright lights – pain in her neck blood in her mouth –

"Klaus kidnapped you," Damon explained, eyes searching his face. "And then _Finn_ and_ Sage_ showed back up in town, hell bent on getting revenge. Delayed revenge, I might add."

"WH-what did they do?" Elena whispered but she already knew the answer; she could feel it in her very bones that there was something different about herself and the memories kept trickling in. "Am I _dead_?" Her voice rose in pitch on that last word.

Damon pressed his lips into a thin, grim line. "I'm sorry."

"No, no, no," Elena cried, running her hands through her long brown hair and then down her face, almost clawing herself. "No, I didn't want to be a vampire! Damon, _I don't want to be a vampire_!"

"Well, unless you want to be dead, you have no choice now," Damon snapped in a brief moment of anger and frustration. "You have a day to feed and complete the transition."

"Or a day to say goodbye." The thought made Elena calm a little and she lowered her hands into her lap. She felt like her whole body was trembling with emotions. Or maybe that was the transition.

"Maybe there's a way out of this, we just have to figure it out," Another voice suggested from the door of her bedroom. Elena looked up and felt her jaw go slack with surprise.

"There is no way out of it, Stephanie," Damon snapped angrily without turning to even look at his sister. "You feed or you die, there is no number three."

"What is she doing here, Damon?" Elena demanded and she fists her hands in her thick comforter.

"She's a White Hat again," Damon surprised Elena further by wincing, "which was kind of the catalyst for Klaus kidnapping you. It's a long story."

"Maybe there's something Bonnie can do," Stephanie continued, avoiding Elena's gaze. "Some spell or something."

Elena grasped on that hope with everything she had. "Bonnie's really good, Damon, maybe Stephanie's right." She would focus on Stephanie getting free from Klaus later. Right now, she needed to think about . . . this.

"She's not_ that_ good," Damon glowered. "Come on, Elena, be sensible."

"It's my choice," Elena met his eyes challengingly. "You wouldn't make me turn against my will, Damon. It's my choice." She was sure that he wouldn't force her to change; he loved her too much to do that.

"Like always," He muttered under his breath.

"What's that thumping downstairs?" Elena asked abruptly, distracted. She needed to know what it was.

"Heartbeats," Stephanie's voice was strained as she answered. Maybe she was having trouble around the humans too then, Elena half mused. "You can hear the neighbors' hearts because you can't control your extended senses yet."

"Why don't you stay up here for a bit while I have a chat with Steph," Damon's hand was suddenly on Elena's shoulder. "Okay?"

"I'm not an invalid," Elena said brusquely.

"No, you're just in transition and a danger to humans right now," Damon said lowly. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't you just say you didn't want to turn?" His face was hard and there seemed to be a wall rising between them. No, not a wall – a gaping chasm miles apart that was continuing to widen.

Sensing this, Elena stifled her protests for the moment; she could probably hear what they were saying about her anyway. "Fine," She said stiffly.

"Great." There was Damon's fake, plastic smile. Elena hated it. He stood and clapped a hand on his sister's shoulder and the two strode away, downstairs to the kitchen if the opening cupboards and slamming coffee cups and glass tumblers were anything to go by. If she strained herself, Elena could hear them arguing about giving her false hope and quiet murmurings of Caroline and Lexi.

Abruptly, Elena couldn't hear them anymore; the sounds of her clock ticking took over her concentration and her gums began to throb. She stood from the bed and went over to her Chester drawer with its large mirror that took up a good portion of her wall. Elena sat down and leaned towards the mirror, lifting her hands to her mouth. She felt around with her fingers, looking for the fangs she'd seen her friends bare, but could not feel the sharpened incisors.

The light from her lamp made her blink rapidly and the buzz of electricity began to hum loudly, making her head spin towards it. She winced as the hum wavered in decibels. Tersely, she strode over to the lamp and crushed the light bulb in her fingers. There was a brief burn that quickly resolved itself with her quickened healing and she felt better now that the humming was gone as well as the bright fluorescent light.

The conversation downstairs became louder and Elena covered her ears with her hands. She realized it was going to be a long, horrible day.

She didn't know the half of it.

* * *

"Elena doesn't want to be a vampire," Matt said gruffly.

"I really doubt she wants to be dead either, Matt," Anna retorted as she pulled on a dark jacket. Were they seriously going to miss school again? It wasn't like she could compel herself a diploma anymore and so she couldn't afford to keep taking off. But he wanted to go see Elena, the troublesome-in-transition-doppelgänger. God, she wanted a drink.

"She needs a level head to talk to right now," He continued blithely. "The only people around her right now are vampires, Anna, and they're all going to be telling her to turn." Matt headed towards the door of his house, but Anna slid in front of him, putting her hands onto his chest, forcing Matt to look down at her.

"Do you really want her to die?" Anna asked, genuinely curious. "She's your friend. Isn't it better she becomes vampire than not be around at all?"

"I know that she didn't want to be a vampire before she died, Anna," He faced her seriously, "and I just want to make sure none of those guys are pressuring her into doing something she doesn't want to know. You know Damon will want her to turn and I think Elena would do it to please him."

"Then I don't think you know your friend very well," Anna said shortly. "She's independent and makes her own choice, whether or not they're particularly good. If she wants to die, I think she'll make that decision, and if she wants to be a vampire so she can live with the Salvatore's forever, then you need to let her do that."

"Anna." Matt's face was so solemn. "I _have_ to talk to her before she makes up her mind."

Anna sighed. "For the record, I just want it to be known that I think this is a bad idea. She's unstable right now and even the smell of human blood could set her off."

"Yeah," Matt grunted and they set off for his truck together.

* * *

"Damn it," Damon muttered.

"What's the matter, darling, are you not happy to see me?"

Damon looked up to see Bonnie and Kol striding through his kitchen to the living room. "What the hell are you doing here?" Bonnie went passed them without comment, heading up the stairs to Elena's bedroom, carrying a backpack presumably full of her witchy things.

Kol threw himself down on the couch and reclined. He shot Damon a lazy smirk. "Just checking out the entertainment. This town is dreadfully boring if you don't follow _The Trials and Sufferings of the Petrova Doppelgänger Special._"

Damon snarled. "How did you get in here?"

"Well, the owner of the house just died, didn't she? No invitation necessary," Kol drawled and Damon nearly leapt at him to throttle the Original.

"Hey, hey," Stephanie interceded and put a hand onto Damon's shoulder. "What were those calls about?" She distracted him.

While glaring at Kol, Damon explained. "Meredith says that the blood is being guarded at the hospital, Alaric and Pastor Young have relieved Liz and Carol of their jobs and all the vervain has been gathered up, somehow including our stash," Damon ticked off his fingers. "So basically, everything's gone to hell in a hand basket."

"So what do we do?" Lexi asked from the doorway.

"Is my mom okay?" Caroline demanded.

"So much estrogen in one room," Kol admired with a sly grin, earning him several glares.

"Not the time," Stephanie glared. "Where's your leash?"

"I've been cut off, but the master's just up the stairs if you need to know training commands," Kol offered.

"Can you just be gone?" Damon demanded of Kol and then turned to Caroline and Lexi. "Find Tyler and make sure he's not doing something stupid like trying to help out his mom. Don't try to contact your mother either, Caroline. I'm going to go see what I can do about the vervain and the blood for now. Steph, keep an eye on _him-"_

"I'm leaving," Kol announced, jumping up. "I can tell when I'm not wanted. I'll just see if Abby needs anything." He strode away and despite his eager self-dismissal, the others could see that he was satisfied with the minor chaos he'd caused for them.

"I've got to get more stuff, anyway," Bonnie announced and all of the vampires turned to look at her sudden appearance. "I can't find anything in what I brought, so I'm thinking I'll just continue this at my house."

"Then Steph, you keep an eye on Elena," Damon commanded and the group dispersed with each of their missions, though not without some grumbling about being told what to do.

"Did you forget I can't go out into the sunlight?" Lexi asked dryly.

Damon frowned. "Take a jacket or something."

"Or I could just stay here," She deadpanned.

Damon waved a hand. "Whatever." He followed the others out and the door shut with a soft click. Stephanie turned for the stairs to avoid talking to Lexi, but her friend stopped her with a handle to the shoulder.

"How are you doing?"

"Fine," Stephanie grunted.

"I know you, Steph," Lexi warned, "and you are not fine right now. Where did you go before? When we all just arrived back?"

"Just took a walk, Lexi," Stephanie jerked her arm out of her friend's grasp. "I needed to get out of this house for a bit."

Lexi arched her brows, but dropped it. "How's the bloodlust?"

Stephanie said nothing.

"When this mess is solved, I could help you," Lexi offered.

"Damon's going to help this time," Stephanie said, surprising Lexi.

"Really?" Lexi crossed her arms and wasn't sure if she was very pleased. "What's he going to teach you?" She scoffed. "How to take a woman to bed?"

Stephanie leveled her with a sharp look. "Moderation." Lexi barked a laugh and Steph glared. "Come on, Lexi, let's be serious for a minute. What you do doesn't really help me; it's gets me weaned off human blood, sure, but then as soon as I get so much as a taste, I'm off the rails again. I need a permanent fix, Lex, not just something to get me through a decade or two."

Lexi and Stephanie watched each other for a moment until the blonde finally nodded warily. "Okay. If that's what you want. But I'll be keeping an ear to ground, do you hear me? If things get too out of control, I'm going to step in because you're my best friend and I want to help."

"This mean you're leaving?" Stephanie asked, relaxing her stance. She was privately glad that Lexi had backed off so easily. Even though they'd been clearly living under the same roof, Damon and Lexi were by no means friends.

"Well, Lee has to miss me," Lexi shrugged but she had a tiny smile in the corner of her mouth. "Poor guy probably feels neglected. And I miss him, too."

They were interrupted by a creaking on the step. It was Elena, walked towards them. "Hey," The dark haired girl greeted quietly.

"Hi," Steph nodded. They stood awkwardly together.

"Want to tell me how you're here, Steph?" Elena asked after a moment. "I mean, last we saw each other, you were kind of . . ."

"A raging, psychotic bitch?" Stephanie offered wryly and Elena coughed out a dry laugh. Lexi smirked.

"Pretty much," She nodded.

"Klaus decided to let me go," Stephanie explained and crossed her arms. Elena frowned as she descended the last of the stairs. Even Lexi cocked her hip at that. She'd wondered, of course, but could Klaus have truly listened to her?

"What?" Elena was similarly amazed.

"He said something like that if you really loved someone, you'd let them go. If they didn't return, you never really had their love," Steph shifted on her feet. "I think he was trying to be gallant, but it was a bit too little too late."

Lexi placed her hand over to mouth to hide her shock; Klaus did have a heart, after all, she supposed. He was a terrible, murderous man, but apparently she'd gotten through to that guarded heart of his.

"He's sick," Elena agreed. She looked at the floor and then at Stephanie's brooding gaze. "I'm . . . sorry you went through all that. Caroline and Lexi missed you." Lexi nodded. "Damon too. Um," She rubbed the back of her neck, "I missed you too. You're a good friend."

"When I'm not snacking on the locals," Stephanie muttered under her breath.

"I think we can all agree on that," Elena nodded and the tense atmosphere began to lighten just a bit. The vampires looked up though, not even a minute later; they could hear several heavy footsteps on the front porch. Elena's heart began to race, even as Stephanie positioned herself in front of her protectively, just like before. Lexi turned to face the intruders head on.

The door burst open and they were surrounded by several unfamiliar deputies and two very familiar men. "Pa-Pastor Young?" Elena asked hesitantly and gently maneuvered around the smaller vampire. "Rick?"

"Everything will be alright, Elena," The Pastor assured her gently with placating hand motions.

Alaric smiled and it was almost as if nothing had changed until he said, "We're going to protect you from the vampires."

Several shots rang out and Elena screamed.

.

.

.

"Damn it all to-" Damon grumbled angrily as he ran around the house, fixing lamps and furniture for something to temporarily keep his mind and hands busy. He'd gotten back from his reconnaissance from the hospital (the security was iron tight and neigh impossible to get through) with Meredith on his heels to find that his sister and his girlfriend were missing from the Gilbert house. Lexi had been shot up full of vervain and wooden bullets and was still unconscious on the couch.

The front door opened and Damon whirled around; he relaxed when he saw it was only Liz. Meredith returned from the kitchen, still silent as death.

"They're gone," He said flatly.

Liz frowned. "I found Caroline and Tyler," Liz told him and Damon perked up.

"And?"

"I told them to hide somewhere," Liz sighed. "They wouldn't leave town, but I suggested they go to ground, at least. They finally went to the old Lockwood grounds temporarily. It was the best I could get them to do."

"At least they were captured by the Council," Damon ground out. "Is there anything you can do?"

"Nothing," Liz shook her head. "The Council locked Carol and I out of our offices; we can't access files, equipment, people, nothing."

Damon strode towards his friend menacingly. "And you never contemplated a backup plan, Liz?"

"Damon," Meredith warned lowly.

"I'm sorry I'm stressed, Meredith," He snapped, "It's just that my best friend is crazy and with the bad guys and my sister and my girlfriend have been kidnapped for God knows what reason."

There was a knocking on the door and the three adults immediately turned to see who had joined them now.

"Is Elena here?" Matt stuck his head around the door. At his side was Anna, who traded unhappy looks with Damon. Neither particularly liked the other.

"No," Damon said shortly.

"She was taken by the Council," Meredith told him sympathetically. "We're trying to figure out where they might have gone."

"With your vervain and Alaric's weapons, they could be anywhere," Liz told the group at large. "We don't have a chance in hell locating them."

"Come on guys, think," Damon snapped. "It takes a lot to hold a vampire; reinforced steel, iron doors . . ."

Something must have clicked in the back of Matt's brain. "Pastor Young has cattle ranch," He said quickly, "Those pens and locks could easily be modified to hold vampires, especially ones weak on vervain."

"Way to go, Matt," Anna muttered and shot him a quick grin that he weakly tried to return.

"It's remote, it's secluded . . ." Meredith trailed off.

"Well guess what, I guess you get to prove how useful quarterbacks can really be," Damon locked eyes on Matt. "So let's go, QB. Everyone else wait here until we get back."

* * *

Elena sat in Pastor Young's farmhouse, finger in her mouth probing the place in her gums where she could feel her fangs growing. Every noise irritated her; everything was louder and brighter and she thought she was going to go crazy. Distantly, she heard Pastor Young ask her a question, but Elena was focused on her newly returned friend who was surely locked up somewhere with Alaric's crazy alter ego and who knew how many other captured vampires.

"Elena?" Pastor Young tried to grab her attention. The tea kettle screamed, making her wince painfully. She wanted to cover her ears.

"Why did you bring me here?" Elena asked quickly.

"My deputies can watch out for us here," He told her. "Look, Elena, I know this sounds crazy, but it was your parents that advocated having an emergency plan like this. I never actually thought we'd have to use it." The clock was booming in her ears and the light streaming in through the window made her cover her eyes. "Are you okay?"

"Where are Steph and Lexi?" Elena ignored his question and she heard him sigh.

"They're vampires, Elena," Pastor Young explained gently, "They could seriously hurt you."

While that was honest when Stephanie was on a ripper binge, it was conveniently untrue at this very moment, "They would never hurt me." Thank you Klaus, for letting Stephanie go for this to be truthful, Elena thought to herself. "You have no idea what you're talking about."

"Well, I know that wherever you go, Salvatore vampires seem to follow," Pastor Young told her. "You hungry?"

"No." Elena glowered. She was certainly hungry, but not for anything he was cooking. His heartbeat sounded particularly appetizing.

Pastor Young began to explain his plans. "We left the blonde vampire, Lexi, back at the house since she didn't have a daylight ring and she wasn't precisely necessary. We'll hold Stephanie until Damon comes searching for you two, and we'll use Kol to bring back the Original vampires. Did you know that the original sign for Wickery Bridge was made out of a white ash tree? Thankfully, we found it in the Mayor's office and whittled it into a stake. We'll be able to get rid of the entire vampire race."

"Wait, you have Kol?" Elena asked sharply. He'd gone home with Bonnie. Surely they hadn't taken Bonnie down? She was a human.

"He tried to fight back," Pastor Young misinterpreted her tone for worry for the Council, "but for some reason, he couldn't land a hit on anyone. It was like something was stopping him each time he got close, which was good for us. Unusual though."

"Was anyone with him?" Elena hedged uncertainly.

"Your good friend Bonnie Bennett and her vampire mother," Pastor Young gave her the side eye. "We know she's a witch, so we couldn't figure out why she would be fraternizing with vampires. We put her out of commission temporarily so she wouldn't decide to try anything that would destroy our plans."

"What did you do to her?" Elena demanded. "She's my best friend."

"Nothing she won't recover from," The Pastor soothed. "It was just a mild sedative to keep her out for the rest of the day. She'll wake up this evening in her bed and by then the vampire infestation should be taken care of."

Elena clenched her fists, furious that anyone could have done something so vial to her best friend. The sounds of the kitchen intensified and all she wanted to do was leave and warn everyone. Pastor Young leaned in close suddenly and his blood was all she could hear and think of.

"Elena, you okay?"

Fine, she tried to mutter, but the sounds only got louder and his blood more distracting, so she sprang upwards, knocking her chair back. "I've got to get out of here." She ran from the house and she distantly heard the Pastor shout, _"Get her."_

They knew now, then.

The world went blurry as the force of the sun beat on her back and then she heard a gun being cocked and fired; a bullet tore through her stomach and she sank to the dirty ground. She lost consciousness.

* * *

"I can't stand just waiting around!" Caroline finally shouted, throwing up her arms. "There has to be something we can do!"

"Care," Tyler soothed, "There's not. If we go out there, all we're doing is giving the Council more targets and our parents more people to rescue. We'll just be a hindrance."

Caroline groaned. "Tyler."

"Seriously, Care," Tyler snapped. "What do you want me to do? Ignore your mom and let ourselves be caught by the Council like Stephanie and Elena were?"

Caroline sank down to the dirty ground, defeated.

* * *

Elena woke up with a terrible headache and feeling of awful heaviness in her very bones. She blinked her eyes, trying to locate the loud buzzing noise in the barn; a powerful steel fan was blowing vervain around, weakening all the vampires. She remembered quite suddenly where she was: Pastor Young's cattle ranch.

"Lookit who finally woke up," A groggy voice drawled across from her. Elena blinked heavily and recognized Kol. "They thought you were a full-fledged vampire and stuffed you in here with us monsters, darling. Must not have recognized somebody in transition. Pity."

"Kol?" Elena called drowsily. She felt very out of it, dizzy and lightheaded. It was disorienting.

"That's me," Kol rolled his head onto his shoulder, revealing how frail he truly was in that moment. Elena almost pitied him.

"Stephanie?" Elena called.

Someone coughed in the pen next to her. "Right here, Elena." She sounded terrible.

"Steph!" Elena tried to quickly get to the bars of the pen so she could talk to her friend. "I need to feed," She gasped. "I'm so hungry . . ." Elena could hear shuffling in the pen next to her and suddenly there was a thin arm sticking through the bars. Elena gratefully clasped her hand. "If we get out of this," She huffed, "all is forgiven, okay, Steph? Even the Jeremy stuff."

"Thanks . . . for . . . that," Stephanie wheezed and coughed.

With her free hand, Elena shook the reinforced bars of the pen.

"It's no use," Kol called over quietly. "I've tried that already; the good Pastor and the vampire hunter truly know their stuff. There's no way we're getting out of this place alive unless someone rescues us poor damsels."

"You're including yourself in that list?" Stephanie coughed.

"Of course," Kol drawled. "I mean, I am trapped. I couldn't even protect the lovely Bennett witch when they drugged her."

"I couldn't either . . ." Abby Bennett Wilson. Elena looked over and saw her; Abby was in the same condition they were in, drowsy and weak, leaning against the back of her cell-like pen. "They doped up my daughter and all I could do was watch from the ground . . ."

"They didn't hurt her, Pastor Young said," Elena tried to reassure the mother of her best friend, but honestly she was worried about Bonnie as well.

"Ha," Abby choked out a laugh. "He'll go for the witches next, mark my words Elena."

The four vampires grew quiet for a moment. "Stephanie?"

Stephanie gripped Elena's hand a little bit harder. "Yeah, Elena?"

"I don't think I have much time left," Elena croaked, "I need blood. I'm dying."

Stephanie scrabbled around her pen, dropping Elena's hand. Moments later, Elena heard her dragging her body up from the dirty ground by pulling on the iron bars. "Hey!" She yelled, "Anyone! You think we're afraid of you?" The door to the barn opened and a white guy around his late twenties, early thirties stormed inside. He went directly to Steph's pen and Elena felt a flash of fear.

"Do you want more vervain?" He demanded.

"Help me. Elena's going to die if you don't get her out of here," She begged. "Please."

There was moment of tense silence where the man stared at Elena and the girl truly thought for a moment that he would relent. Then he turned back to Stephanie. "Sorry. Not my problem." Elena coughed.

"She's innocent, let her out," Stephanie tried again. When the man did nothing she raged at the bars. "_Let her out_!" The gun went off and Elena flinched as she heard Stephanie grunt and fall painfully to the ground. "_I said let her out_!" Stephanie screeched again and rushed the bars. The man only shot her again. When Steph fell this time, she did not get back up.

"Stephanie?" Elena asked hesitantly.

"Darling?" Kol called and Elena was surprised to hear a little concern. "Lovely show, but I'm afraid it wasn't particularly well thought out."

"Heh," Stephanie tried to laugh and ended up grunting instead. She dragged her body up to the side of her pen again, as close to Elena as she could get. She plunged her fingers into her thigh, searching for the bullet there. "And it feels like I just got out the last wooden bullets they shot me up with at the house," She groaned. Steph tossed it across the pen after she'd fished it out, and searched for the second one in her gut.

Grunting and panting, Stephanie found it and yanked. "Elena? You still with me?"

"Yeah," Elena whispered and found to her surprise that she could barely talk. Still, she tried to convince her friend she was fine. "Yeah, I'm alright."

"No, you're not," Stephanie called her out. "I can hear your breathing. Damon was right; you should have fed this morning. I'm so sorry for suggesting otherwise."

"It's fine," Elena whispered, "You had hope, which is what I wanted everyone to have." She closed her eyes. "Oh God, Jeremy. I'll never see him again."

"Yes, you will," Stephanie snapped, teary eyed. "I'll make sure of it."

"How?" Elena whispered. "We're stuck . . . in . . . here . . ."

"Darling, don't pass out now," Kol called to her. "I'm sure rescue is son the way; I mean, there's no possible way _Damon Salvatore_ is going to let you die in here. You know, did I ever tell you about the bar fight I had with him in 1912? New Orleans, it was. I pummeled him."

"No, you didn't," Stephanie laughed dryly, which only made her cough. "You both were far too drunk. And anyway, you were on the same side that night."

"Really?" Kol pondered. "Maybe I was a little _too_ trashed . . ."

Elena smiled as her eyes fluttered closed.

* * *

Damon jumped out of the car and slammed the door angrily, jerking Matt along. "Come on, Quarterback." The house was silent, but there were lights lit everywhere.

"So, what? We just storm the place with no weapons?" Matt asked sharply.

"Nope. We just need bait," Damon said.

"Huh?" Matt asked, turning to him. Damon darted in and bit Matt's neck, sucking the blood from one of his main arteries. Damon gripped the jock around his thick shoulders to hold him in place as he fed. It had been so long since he'd drunk from the vein . . . he hadn't realized how much he'd missed it. Damon dropped Matt to the ground and looked back to the house, not bothering to wipe his face or straightening up his appearance otherwise; he looked feral and felt utterly wild.

While Matt groaned in the grass, Damon hollered toward the house. "You who, big bad vampire out here!"

The door opened and Pastor Young stepped out. "Leave him alone; the boy is innocent," The man commanded sharply.

"Reasoning with Damon is pointless," Another man joined Pastor Young and Damon stiffened. Alaric grinned. "You have to use force with him or else he just never learns."

"I really don't need to learn anything, Rick," Damon said lowly and he grabbed Matt. "I know you want Matt alive, but seeing as I don't care, I suggest you do what I ask and give me Stephanie and Elena."

"You gotta use force, Pastor," Alaric said again and retrieved a gun. He cocked it and shot, hitting Damon in the shoulder.

"Get away!" The Pastor yelled, "You are not getting in and we are not coming out!"

Damon looked down at the wound and then back up at the men on the porch. "Okay, now I'm angry. This was designer jacket."

* * *

Kol, watching Elena and Stephanie hold hand through the bar, giving each other strength, made a decision. He dragged his body up from the cell-like pen, using the reinforced iron bars to hold himself up.

"Oi! Watcher man! I'm in need of a favor!" The women in the barn looked at him, confused, and so Kol gave Stephanie a significant look. She blinked, let go of Elena's hand, and began to pull herself up as well.

"I'll take care of this," One of the men called, "You bring in the other one."

"Got it."

"Excuse me! Hello, watcher man?" Kol continued to call until the man stood in front of him.

"I thought I told you to shut up?" The guard demanded and pointed his gun at the Original.

"Right, well, here's the thing," Kol said, "my family has a lot of money; lots of property and jewelry. Anything you could possibly want, we've got it. So how about you let me go?"

"I'd much rather watch you die," The man growled.

"Okay, well, here's another thing," Kol continued as he propped his head on the bars; he was so tired . . . "My family really doesn't care about me much, see. And they're spread out around the world, in any case; Finn high tailed it out of here when Klaus killed his lover, Klaus has been taken care of by a_ lovely_ witch, my sister is off cavorting with her new girlfriend, and Elijah is probably in a business meeting somewhere in Prague. They're not going to rescue me because they won't notice I'm gone. In all actuality, they would probably celebrate my passing with streamers and piñatas," Kol admitted.

"Oh, really?" the man said, clearly unconvinced.

"Yes," Kol nodded, "It's true. I'm unloved and unwanted-" Faster than he thought he was capable of while hindered with vervain, Kol snapped out at the man, making him quickly walk backwards a little too close to Stephanie's pen.

Immediately, Steph was up and had her hands around the man's neck. She pulled him back toward her pen and knocked the human's head up against the reinforced iron bars one, two, four times until the man slumped to the ground, dead and bleeding from the head.

"Nice teamwork there," Kol breathed and he slid back down to the ground. "Great . . . great work, everybody. Lemme just . . . take a . . . nap."

The blood dripped and spilled towards Elena.

"Elena," Stephanie called tensely. "Elena." She watched as the other girl's hand reached out and her fingers clawed towards the puddle, finally touching the life giving liquid. "That's it," Stephanie murmured. Elena brought her bloodied fingers back to her mouth and sucked as tears (of relief or pain at the fact that she was turning into a vampire, Stephanie would never know) fell from her eyes. Stephanie turned back to the dead man while Elena finished her transition and searched for the keys. Finding them, Stephanie shoved his body out of the way and then unlocked her cell.

She went to Elena immediately next and let her out. Already, the girl was looking much, much better. Elena gave a wobbly at her in thanks, but then stiffened. "Something's happening outside . . ." and then she was gone.

"Elena!" Stephanie yelled, but she had already disappeared. Muttering to herself, Steph quickly released Abby and Kol, (both helped themselves to the dead deputy) helping them out of the barn. When they got out to the front lawn, they found Elena holding Damon down onto the grass and Matt half sitting several feet away, holding a hand to his bloody neck. Around then were two dead deputies, and Pastor Young and Alaric were standing on the threshold of the the Pastor's house, not quite daring enough to step outside to face all the vampires milling around without any backup.

"Damon! Elena!" Stephanie called and limped to their sides. Behind her, she heard Abby disappear, though Kol lingered.

"Are they having sex on the lawn?" He asked far too curiously.

"I hope not," Stephanie muttered. She waited until the lovers in front of her separated, and then she helped Matt up and to Damon's car, with Damon and Elena following behind.

They were finally going to go home, sleep, and then figure out how to best deal with the Council in the morning.

* * *

With the sunrise came the Town Council at Pastor Young's request. They were still as his cattle ranch, the place where their original plans had fallen through. That morning Pastor Young would be fulfilling something that he hadn't even let Alaric in on, which had upset the vampire hunter who was sitting grumpily at the table. The rest of the Council milled around the kitchen in tense silence.

"Folks, by now you know that the vampires have escaped," Pastor Young told them gravely as they passed around vervain. "It won't be long until they retaliate against us. But fear not, I have been chosen to lead us into a new movement." He locked them all inside.

"What?"

"Soon, you'll be free to pass through the gates. And we'll all reunite in eternity."

"Seriously, Pastor, what's going on here?"

"We are the beginning," Pastor Young smiled and took out his lighter.

.

.

.

Despite the rough day and night he'd had, Kol had lingered at the cattle ranch, confident that he couldn't be harmed any further now that he was prepared and the Council was scattered and scared. Dawn came and with it people into the Pastor's house; Kol watched them all enter and none of them leave. And so he lingered, curious (curiosity killed the cat, his mother always said, but Kol knew that satisfaction brought it back), and listened in to the conversation.

_We are the beginning._

The explosion that followed was wholly unexpected. It was only after, when Kol had returned to the Bennett house did he realize how _many people_ had been in that explosion.

Twelve.

Coincidence?

Kol didn't believe in them.

_We are the beginning._

.

.

.

.

**Tbc.**


	2. we're all weeping now, weeping because

_Note_: I am so, so, so sorry for the long wait. My school and personal lives have been in a mess for the last few weeks and I just have had not enough time to write this fic or have been too tired and just drained to even think about it. But I trudged through and here you go!

_Disclaimer_: I do not own the Vampire Diaries or any quotes borrowed/used in this story.

* * *

**we're all weeping now, weeping because**

"_Here comes Frank and poor old Jim  
They're gathering round with all my friends  
We're older now, the light is dim  
And you are only just beginning  
O children."_

_._

_._

_._

"I'll miss you."

"Of course you'll miss me; almost my _entire_ visit you were a crazy Original groupie."

"Well . . ."

"Oh, come here."

Stephanie and Lexi embraced tightly, the blonde's chin resting on her friend's head. They clutched at each other, as best friends do, not wanting to let go. But eventually they had to, and they stepped back. Lexi picked up her solitary bag of belongings, hefting it onto her shoulder.

"Stay out of trouble," Lexi warned her with a pointed finger and an arched white-blonde brow. "Don't let Damon mess up your control lessons. If he goes too far –"

"Lex," Steph warned lightly. "It'll be fine. He's teaching Elena too and everything will be okay. Trust me."

"Alright," Lexi gave in. She frowned and her dark blue eyes involuntarily darted to the Salvatore Boarding House one last time, lingering. "How is he, by the way? That explosion that took out the Council members . . . Alaric was in there and I know he wasn't himself at the time, but . . ."

"But they were best friends," Stephanie finished grimly. The thought of losing Lexi like that, or Elena or Caroline . . . "I know. He's at the Grill now, more than likely drunk. Elena is beside herself as well . . . she thought of Rick as a second father."

"At least Jeremy's on his way home," Lexi said. "He'll help Elena keep her grip on her humanity. Maybe you two will mend bridges."

Stephanie pressed her lips together, disbelieving and more than a little uncomfortable. "Maybe, but I don't hold out too much hope for much more than a cordial relationship, if that, Lexi. I was terrible to him and I deserve whatever he throws at me."

"You know that's not true," Lexi reprimanded sharply.

"It is." Stephanie folded her arms under her breasts. "It's okay, though."

Lexi sighed. "At least give me one more hug for the road." She stepped forwards and they hugged once more. Stephanie closed her eyes and when she opened them again her best friend was gone, torn from her arms and vanished into thin air. She looked down at her phone, checking the time.

"School or bar?" Steph asked herself wryly.

It was a no brainer, really; Stephanie went to the bar.

.

.

.

Damon sat in the Mystic Grill, twirling his bourbon in its tumbler and stared mournfully at the seat next to him. If he only closed his eyes, he could just imagine Alaric's gruff presence sitting next to him. It was early morning, but Damon had been there nearly since opening. Tired but determined footsteps trudged towards him and he didn't need to look up to see Liz Forbes as she slapped down a newspaper in the spot Damon was looking at.

"This seat's taken," He muttered but he looked at the paper all the same, reading the headlines aloud. "Faulty gas lines lead to tragic massacre at the Young farm." Damon tossed the paper away as Liz sat in the stool on his other side. He looked up at Liz with exasperation, "Really?"

"It's better than Town Council blown up; police have no suspects." Liz's eyes stared accusingly at him, "unless the perpetrator's sitting right next to me."

"Oh, you know I always take credit when I kill someone, Liz," Damon drawled drunkenly, "but even I'm not heartless enough to orchestrate my best friend's murder."

Liz winced but hardened her resolve. She leaned in close, nearly whispering into his ear. "The explosion was triggered from inside; this was _not_ an accident."

"You say that as a bad thing, Liz," Damon said cruelly, "I mean, the Council is off our backs now."

"I grew up with many of them, Damon. They were my friends," Liz stepped back and slammed her hands onto the bar, shaking Damon's glass. She breathed harshly through her mouth.

Damon was kind enough to wait until she got a hold of herself to growl back, "Well, your _friends_ tried to kill your daughter." Liz pressed her lips into a thin line and stepped back. There was a moment of tense silence. Someone cleared their throat and Liz and Damon turned their heads, both secretly glad for the interruption.

A man, someone Damon had never seen before, was standing between them, arms hanging at his sides. "Excuse me, Sheriff. I was hoping I'd get to speak to you for a moment. I promise it'll just be a second of your time; see, I'd like to talk about the explosion at the Young farmhouse."

"Well, Mister . . ." Liz trailed off significantly.

"Jordan," New Guy introduced himself, "Connor Jordan." Connor Jordan completely ignored Damon's presence, which hello, _rude_.

"Mister Jordan, are you one of the insurance agents?" Liz inquired. Damon looked up at the New Guy with a critical eye; he was an average height to tall black man with a shaved head and dark, serious eyes. He wore working class clothes and black leather, fingerless gloves. He caught Damon looking him up and down and waved with his fingertips.

Connor Jordan stuck one of those hands for Liz to shake. "No, no," He corrected with a sly grin, "I'm more of an independent contractor." Connor side eyed Damon, who returned the wave with his fingers. "Can we speak in private, Sheriff?" Connor asked.

"Of course," Liz nodded stiffly. "Just follow me."

As she led him away without as much as by your leave, Damon muttered, "Nice to meet you too, busy-bodied guy." He looked down at his drink and sighed when he heard another set of footsteps approach. It was just what he wanted; more company. Stephanie plopped down in the seat next to him, not Alaric's seat thankfully, and waved the bar tender over.

"I'll need to see some ID," The barman said flatly. "Shouldn't you be in school?"

"Shouldn't you mind your own business?" She snapped and then compelled him to get her a shot of vodka.

"Starting early," Damon observed dryly.

"Says the vampire who has been drinking since breakfast," Stephanie said pointedly and refused to look at Damon.

"Guilty as charged," Damon drawled and took another swig. "Aren't you picking up Jeremy from the airport? He's got to get home somehow . . ."

"I doubt he'd want to see me, of all people," Steph said sharply. "I thought you would go, since you were the one to call him."

"Maybe Kol can do it," Damon mused idly. "He's clearly a very well trained pet Original. I'm sure he will if Bonnie asks nicely." Stephanie rolled her eyes, which Damon saw.

He commented, "Good to know you're back to your self-righteous, moody teenager shenanigans."

"Drink your bourbon," Steph commanded and Damon saluted.

The barman returned with Stephanie's drink, which she threw back. "A tumbler of this please, instead of a shot glass." The man nodded, still glazed, and disappeared again.

"Don't turn into a slushy vamp on me now," Damon told her. "Aren't you supposed to be my good influence now that you're back on the right side of the tracks?"

"Hush, you," Steph muttered and Damon barked with laughter. He moved around in his stool, tired and drunk and just ready for the day to be over already. "Where's Elena?"

Damon waved a hand. "Around, somewhere."

"Damon," Stephanie glowered. "You need to be keeping an eye on her."

"Oh, look at the time," Damon exclaimed unenthusiastically. "It's time to pick up Jeremy from the airport."

"You're too late. I took a cab," A low voice said behind them, making the vampires turn around. Stephanie's brows arched as she took in Jeremy's form; he was taller and much more muscular, and he seemed to have a better presence than he'd had before - more confidence, maybe.

Instead of commenting on any of these things, Stephanie murmured, "Nice haircut."

Jeremy shuffled on his feet. "Uh, thanks." He looked to Damon with a slightly more aggressive approach. "Elena said you had something you had to say to me? And where is she?"

"Right, right," Damon lazily – drunkenly, Stephanie corrected in her head – stood up and laid a hand onto Jeremy's shoulder. "_I'm breaking your compulsion. You're home. You have your own feelings and desires again. If you yearn to ever return to Denver, it'll be of your own free will. _There, done. Can I have some more bourbon now?"

Jeremy blinked, stepped back a step. He eyes, before glazed, were now startling clear and more than a little angry looking. "Where's Elena?" He repeated.

"Why do you guys think I know?" Damon grouched.

"Because she's your girlfriend," Stephanie pointed out, "who you love and want to see transition into a fully functioning non-ripper vampire."

"Hey, we're not alone here," Jeremy muttered surreptitiously, "So quiet down with the supernatural stuff for a minute." Stephanie twisted around to see what the sudden urgency was and became eye level with a small, pale girl with hair as dark as pitch.

"Jeremy?" The pretty girl made her way towards them, smiling and waving a little.

Jeremy's face was colored with surprise. "April! You look great! How long has it been?"

The girl, April, shrugged a little and her eyelashes fluttered over her round, pale cheeks. "A long time, ha."

"Stephanie, this is April," Jeremy fumbled, "ah, Elena used to babysit her when we were younger. April that is." His eyes flicked back between the girls for a few seconds and he jammed his hands into jeans pockets.

"At least until my dad dropped me off at boarding school." April shrugged, but the smile was ever persistent.

"Your _dad_," Jeremy suddenly wilted as if remembering something. "April, I am so sorry. Are you okay?"

"Who's your father?" Stephanie asked gently. Damon sank lower into his seat, snorting into his bourbon.

"Pastor Young," April explained and instantly Steph and Damon perked their ears. "The faulty gas line accident was what killed him and eleven others of the Town Council. Or so everyone tells me, at least. And I haven't quite figured out what to say about that yet. Um. I'm just, you know, not much for grief, I guess." She flushed, which on her pale skin, was very obvious. "I just kind of stopped by because I'm avoiding registering at school." April shrugged. "There will be so many questions about how I feel and I just don't know what so about that yet either. So, I saw some kids over here my age, and thought, what the hay . . . I'm babbling."

"It's okay," Jeremy reassured her with a soft grin and Stephanie felt something squirm in the pit of her stomach. "I can take you – I've got to re-enroll anyway. I just got back from Denver."

"Why Denver?" April cocked her head.

Damon hummed as Jeremy leveled him with a sharp and lingering glare. "Family lives there."

"Oh," April nodded and then launched into a detailed story about something that had happened long before Stephanie and Damon had ever come to Mystic Falls, and Steph felt adrift.

"Do you guys want to be left alone . . . ?" Stephanie trailed off, unsure if her presence was welcomed. It was nice to see Jeremy, but also awkward because of where they had left things off. It wasn't every day that your girlfriend ran off with her ex to save her brother and then return only to kill you without knowing you'd come back. And this April girl was a ray of sunshine, which Stephanie normally would have appreciated, but with her current agitation about blood, it was rather unwelcome.

Clearly, Jeremy felt the same. "Yeah," He said, "I'll see you later, Stephanie." His tone changed from an awkward fumble to strangely formal in a matter of seconds. Steph tried to not let that bother her.

"Have fun, kids," Damon drawled, "I'll be here."

"Not for long," Jeremy predicted.

"Why?" Damon arched one sleek brow. Jeremy lifted an arm and pointed at a harried Elena scurrying towards them. Her brows were drawn into a deep furrow and her arms were crossed tightly across her midsection. She looked stiff and uncomfortable – Stephanie felt a pang of sympathy for her. Elena reached them and put a trembling hand onto Damon's shoulder.

"This seat is taken," Damon said preemptively even as he looked up at her, face softening. "But if Steph moves, you'll be fine to sit there."

"No one is sitting right here, and not the point," Elena snapped. She winced. "We need to talk. Damon. So, bathroom. Now." Elena pulled Damon off of his stool and dragged him away, pausing only to shoot April a quick hello, before leaving the remaining three bewildered. The new girl quickly got over her confusion though, as she turned big innocent eyes onto Jeremy. They left together and Steph heard April ask just who she was.

"Stephanie? She's my ex-girlfriend."

.

.

.

"I really don't think destroying the furniture is the best way to relieve stress, darling," Kol drawled. He stood in the center of the living room while Bonnie smashed a number of glasses in frustration with her magic. The vases would magically combust and then seconds later, they'd glue themselves back together. Rinse and repeat.

"They were able to drug me!" She snapped, curly hair whipping about her face. Her lips were pinched into an angry frown and her dark eyes were boring into Kol's skull. Her hands were placed onto her hips in a stance of pure provocation; she wanted to fight someone, which was very clear. "They made me helpless and I couldn't do anything about it!"

"And they weren't even supernatural," Kol added offhandedly. He'd very quickly put the pieces together at the explosion the previous night; there had been twelve people in that "gas leak" – twelve _humans_ killed. Put together with what Pastor Young had said . . . it was just like the witches so long ago had said – a sacrifice for Expression. Now if only he could get Bonnie to channel it . . .

Bonnie nearly roared at the mention that her assailants hadn't even been vampires or the like. "And they _took_ Elena! Now she's a _vampire_; a blood sucking creature of the night, my best friend." She fell backwards onto her couch and buried her face into her hands.

"Vampires aren't all that bad." Kol offered, "And they kidnapped me too. Rather successfully as well, because of that absolutely _nifty_ spell you've got on me." He arched his brows.

"I won't take it off," Bonnie said wearily. "You're a danger to everyone around you and probably yourself too."

"Forget about me for a second," Kol smirked. "I know it'll be difficult, seeing as beautiful and intelligent and fantastic I am, but try for a moment." When Bonnie looked at him, completely nonplussed and her fingers rose to attack him with a migraine, Kol hurried on. "Think about that gas leak last night, darling."

"It took out the Council," Bonnie stated flatly, "or at least the active members that took me out, including Rick." She winced at the mention of her history teacher. Kol saw that it hurt her to think about the man, and idly wondered what that Salvatore vampire was doing in his grief over the bum.

He moved on. "Right. And how many people did that explosion kill?" Kol prompted.

Bonnie shrugged. "I don't know, Kol."

"Twelve."

Bonnie looked at him askance. "Kol, why does the exact number matter? People are dead – people that attacked me and my friends and I'm furious about it, but they're still people nonetheless. They thought they were protecting the town from vicious vampires." She clenched a hand, thinking about Elena again.

Kol wasn't finished. "What requires twelve human sacrifices?" He asked shortly, frustrated she wasn't going where he wanted her to go with the line of thought he was providing.

Bonnie narrowed her eyes. "Are you trying to say that someone killed those people on purpose? For Expression? Because _I_ think that's wishful thinking on your part."

"Come on, Bonnie," Kol prompted, annoyed. "A gas leak, really? Darling, that's the worst cover up I've ever heard of. It was an inside job. And I know who did it."

Bonnie looked up sharply and stood, jamming a finger in his chest. "Kol," She warningly, "what exactly do you know?"

"I stayed, after, and listened," The Original explained, "and that Pastor Young said some suspicious lark."

"What?"

"'We are the beginning,'" Kol said slowly. "Then the place blew up."

Bonnie furrowed her brows. "'We are the beginning?' What does that mean?"

Kol shrugged. "That, I don't know. As far as I do know though, is that it takes twelve human sacrifices for Expression and that Pastor Young had to have been the one to set off that explosion, killing them all on purpose. I don't believe in coincidences."

"Why would he do that?" Bonnie muttered. "Compulsion?" She eyed him suspiciously. "How do I know that _you_ didn't compel him to do it?"

Kol rolled his eyes. "Come on, Bonnie, when did I have time to do that? In between the parts where they hosed us full of vervain?"

Bonnie sighed and rubbed her eyes tiredly. "Fine. Say you didn't compel them to do it. Who got the Pastor to commit suicide and murder eleven other people?"

"That, we've got to find out. Who – besides me – wants a witch to channel Expression?" Kol crossed his arms. "Don't you just love a mystery, darling?"

.

.

.

Stephanie returned to the Boarding House to drink, convinced that her chances of running into other people and very uncomfortable conversations were a lot lower in her own home. Turned out, she should have stayed at the Grill.

Tyler Lockwood rushed into her house, eyes wild and hands pushing into his gut as he stumbled through her front door. He opened his mouth to say something, but blood dribbled out instead. Stephanie dropped her tumbler onto the bar and ran to his side, letting the hybrid use her as a crutch as she slowly moved him over to the couch.

"Lay right here," She murmured, "and don't move." Stephanie went back into the kitchen and rummaged through the cabinets until she found what she needed; the first aid kit that included tweezers. The front door opened and slammed again and when Steph returned to the living room, found Caroline sitting next to Tyler with his hand clasped into his.

"Help him, please," Caroline begged.

"Of course," Stephanie went to their sides and gently pushed Caroline out of the way. The blonde moved to stand across from the couch. "Alright, Tyler, I'm going to take off your shirt," Steph warned. "It'll sting." The hybrid nodded and Stephanie gently took the ends of his sweater into her hands and slowly pulled it up and over his head. His midsection was exposed then, and she could see the three bullets in his gut. Steph grabbed the tweezers and set to work.

She was extremely careful and removed each wooden bullet as delicately as she could, but both women still winced when Tyler grunted and screamed. "Sh, here," Steph handed him a piece of cloth to bite down on, and then continued her work.

Finally, Steph pulled out the final bullet.

"Please tell me that's the last one," Caroline begged and Stephanie nodded slowly, but her attention was focused on the bullet.

"These are especially designed," She said aloud, "The length, the width . . . if you were a regular vampire, you'd have been dead. You should count yourself lucky."

Tyler spat out the cloth that had rested between his teeth. "This guy knew what he was doing. He had these fingerless gloves that were steeped in vervain; he was searching for a vampire and he didn't hesitate when he found one."

"These etchings . . ." Stephanie narrowed her eyes and used a finger to touch the side of the wooden bullet. It burned straight through her skin and she snatched her hand back, shaking it.

"Are the bullets spelled?" Caroline asked and her head tilted in concern.

"I don't know, but they're certainly something . . ." Stephanie trailed off.

.

.

.

"How did I get wrangled into helping with this?" Anna wondered.

"Because you're my girlfriend and a human and the Council's death was a tragedy," Matt offered. They walked around the church and between pews, placing down programs for the memorial that day. Matt was in dress pants and a button up maroon dress shirt. The sleeves were rolled up to his elbows.

"Still doesn't explain why I'm here." Anna was in a short black dress, straight black hair pulled into a side ponytail.

"You're being supportive to me and pretending to care about those people who died," Matt explained and the dark haired girl nodded.

"Right." She rolled her eyes, but in the process, caught sight of someone unexpected. "Hey, look, it's Elena." She nodded towards another dark headed girl in an orange dress cinched around the waist by a thin belt. "She looks . . ."

"Unhealthy," Matt finished grimly. "But she's dead now, so . . ."

"No vampire looks like _that_," Anna corrected with a sharp head shake. She frowned. "She looks ill . . ."

"I'm going to go talk to her," Matt decided and strode off.

"Well, I guess I'll just wait here," Anna muttered to herself and continued to place down programs. She moved farther away from Matt and Elena and found herself next to a girl around her stature, only a little curvier. "Oh, sorry."

"It's fine," The girl said, shaking her head. "I'm just . . . thinking about what I'm supposed to say today."

"Oh, are you . . ." Anna trailed off.

"April Young," The girl introduced, "the daughter of the man who forgot to get his gas leak checked out. Yeah."

"I'm sorry," Anna said.

"Hey, what are you going to do . . ." April shrugged and then sniffled. "Am I in the way? I was just waiting for Jeremy to come back, but I can move."

"No, you're fine. I'll go," Anna excused herself and passed Jeremy who was on his way to sit next to April. She stuck out a hand and caught his elbow, surprising him. "Whatever you're doing with that girl, be careful. She's grieving."

Jeremy gave her an odd look. "Okay . . . Anna." He left her and she wasn't quite sure why she cared. It wasn't like she knew the girl or anything. She just knew how it felt to lose your only parent in the world. And it hurt to think about her still, and so she was sure April was having a terrible time of it.

When she found Matt again, he and Elena had parted ways. "Where'd Elena go?"

Matt shrugged helplessly. "She just ran off and yelled at me not to follow her. I didn't know whether to listen or to wait."

"Call Damon," Anna advised.

Matt muttered something under his breath and Anna wished – not for the first time – that she still had her vampiric hearing. "Yeah, okay." He pulled out his phone and dialed. Apparently Damon picked up on the first ring. "Hey, Damon, there's something wrong with Elena . . ."

.

.

.

"Bonnie, are you home?"

Kol turned his head. "It's the Salvatore girl. Want to let her in?"

Bonnie brushed passed him to answer the door. "What do you want?"

"We have a problem," She said grimly.

"Besides the fact that Elena's a vampire and twelve people were just blown up?" Bonnie demanded. "What else could go wrong?"

"Tyler was shot by a man today," She explained and Kol perked up his ears, "with these bullets." She reached into her bag and pulled out a small cloth that she unraveled. Inside were three wooden bullets. "They burn to the touch and it might just be vervain, but . . . there's some strange writing on them."

Curious, Kol stepped closer as Bonnie examined the bullets and proclaimed they weren't magic. When he caught sight of them, his brows went up into his hair line. "Not magic exactly, but something close to it," Kol stated and both the girls looked up at him.

"Oh?" Stephanie asked.

"That's the sign of the Five," Kol explained, "Klaus and Rebekah know more about them than I do, but the gist is that they're these magical vampire hunters. They mean business. It's curious though, because I don't think they've been around for a very, very long time."

Bonnie looks at Kol, eyes hard and he notices the sharp contrast from her to Stephanie Salvatore; Bonnie is all sharp edges and Stephanie is folded into herself, but still somehow good. Guilty, but apologetic. Innocent looking. Bonnie looked like a warrior. Stephanie looked like a marionette whose strings had been cut.

"If the Five are here and alive, we're all – to use a term of the twenty first century – very screwed," Kol announced.

"You're full of crazy theories today, aren't you?" Bonnie asked, even as she invited Stephanie in and settled them in the living room to listen for an explanation. Even Abby crept down the stairs to listen.

"They're not crazy, and they're certainly not just theories," Kol scoffed. "I'm positive the Council was killed for an Expression sacrifice and I'm all certain that those markings are of the Five. The real question is whether it's a real Hunter that's using them."

"Tell us about the Five, then," Stephanie commanded, "And then explain to me what you just said about Expression."

Bonnie leveled a glare at Kol and so he began to talk.

"Well, in the twelfth century and before my lovely brother locked me up in a box, there was a witch that created this organization of vampire hunters . . ."

.

.

.

Damon immediately went to the church as soon as he received Matt's hurried call. He found Elena in the bathroom. But it appeared that someone had beaten him there.

"Oh, it's you again," Damon said, eyeing the man from the Grill. "Do you stalk small town funerals or something?" He knocked sharply on the door and his hand tightened on the dress he'd brought for Elena.

"In a minute," She called Damon felt his heart constrict when he heard the pain in her voice.

"It's me," Damon murmured.

The door opened and the man leaned forwards. Elena poked out her head and took the proffered dress from Damon's hands. "Sorry, I spilled coffee all over my dress." She ducked back into the bathroom and sent Damon a wide eyed looked. He nodded at her. _I'll take care of this._

"We have not met," The man said as the bathroom door shut again. Damon's phone vibrated. He glanced at the text from Stephanie. NEW GUY – DANGEROUS. DON'T TOUCH HIS GLOVES. I'LL EXPLAIN LATER. "I'm Connor . . . Jordan." Connor Jordan offered his hand.

"Damon . . . Germaphobe," Damon smirked. "Ready, Elena?" he called.

"Yeah, just a minute," She called back.

"So, what brings you to Mystic Falls?" Damon inquired lightly. "Bible salesman?"

Connor chuckled. "No, no . . . I'm in environmental cleanup."

"Oh," Damon flicked his eyebrows.

"Yeah, I heard you had a bit of an infestation."

"Huh," Damon nodded coolly. "I wasn't aware. I mean, I breath pretty easy."

"Uh huh."

The bathroom door flew open. "I am so sorry that took so long," Elena apologized and Damon's hand found hers. He squeezed in reassurance and she squeezed tightly back. He pulled her towards him.

"It's perfectly fine," Connor told Elena and Damon narrowed his eyes at the predatory look in his eyes.

"Well, I hope you enjoy your stay," Damon told Connor airily, "because we love visitors and the scenery is simply to die for." He put a hand to his mouth. "Huh! Funeral pun! Too soon?" Elena gave him a ghost of a smile and gently swatted him.

"See you, Mr. Connor Jordan," Damon said and brushed passed the man, hand in hand with Elena.

Once they were out of sight and hearing range, Damon asked quietly, "Are you okay?"

"That animal blood didn't go down very well," She admitted.

"I told you," Damon rolled his eyes.

"I just don't want to hurt someone," Elena said quietly.

"You won't, not if you let me help you," Damon stopped her and cupped her face in his hands. "The bunny diet isn't exactly a sure fire way to live. Look at Steph! She needs moderation and so do you."

Elena sighed.

"In the meantime, I have a solution," Damon began and his own heart began to race. He was excited and little bit nervous. They walked towards the church Sanctuary.

"What?"

"Just come on," Damon pulled her along, and dipped his fingers in holy water, crossing himself as he entered the Sanctuary.

"Damon," Elena hissed, "you're a vampire. That's – that's blasphemy!"

"Quiet down, trust me and forget about that," Damon urged.

"What is it?"

Damon and Elena found seats in the very crowded Sanctuary next to Jeremy, Anna, Matt, and Bonnie. On Bonnie's other side was Kol, being surprisingly well behaved. Stephanie sat next to Caroline and Tyler on the other side of the room.

Damon and Elena sat down.

"Drink from me," Damon whispered.

Elena furrowed her brows. "What?" She hissed. "Damon, we're in a church."

"It's a personal thing," Damon explained, "that vampires can do. It's like . . . vamp sex."

"All the more reason to not do it in church," She snapped and someone hushed her. She lowered her voice. "Explain," Elena demanded.

"Vampires blood share sometimes, when they really care about each other. Right now, since you don't want to drink from the vein and I don't have any blood bags, I thought this might be a good solution to your hunger," Damon suggested.

"Right now? Really?"

"You're starving because you refused to drink human blood," Damon snapped back, "and you're going to snap if you don't do something."

"I'll be fine," Elena turned away, "until the service is over."

"Elena-" Damon started, but Jeremy interceded.

"Let her alone, man." Damon rolled his eyes, but stopped pestering Elena. "Hey, Elena," Jeremy called quietly and Elena looked across Damon towards her brother.

"Jeremy! You got here, alright," She beamed. "I'm glad you're okay."

"You're not going to ignore the issue of you having _him_ compel me," Jeremy stated flatly and Elena deflated. "But for now, I'll let it go. Just until after the memorial."

"Right."

"By the way, April was looking for you earlier," Jeremy said. "But I'm not sure where she went – she kind of just disappeared."

Across the room, Stephanie spoke quietly to Tyler. "What are you doing here?"

"Being sensitive to the community," Tyler whispered.

"Even with a Hunter after you? I explained about the Five thing, right?" She said shortly.

"Yeah," Tyler nodded, "but that won't scare me into running."

"And if he shows up, I'll kick his ass," Caroline smirked.

"You didn't listen to me at all, did you," Stephanie said flatly.

"What is this about hunters? And number fives? You never explained," Damon hissed. Their conversation was so low that no humans could possibly hear it, though all of the supernaturals did perfectly clear – as if they were all sitting together, alone.

"They're called The Brotherhood of the Five, actually darlings," Kol joined their quiet conversation. "That's the collective term to describe the first in a class of supernaturally gifted vampire hunters. It's all very complicated," Kol said, "but the hunters are dangerous. They're supernatural. And our new friend Connor Jordan seems to be one of them."

Kol was interrupted then, but it appeared as though that was all he was going to say on the matter.

"Before we begin the mass, we'd like to open the floor for anyone who wanted to say a few words," Carol Lockwood stepped up in front of the crowd and the supernaturals' conversation faded for the moment. "I know April Young wanted to say a few words for her dad . . . April, are you still here, honey?" There was a moment of silence, in which Jeremy looked around the Sanctuary for the girl. Carol continued. "Well, is there anyone else?"

Elena slowly stood.

"Come on up, Elena," Carol said.

"What are you doing?" Damon hissed.

"I need to say something," She said quietly and then went up towards the stage. Carol moved a little to the left and Elena took the podium and adjusted the microphone. She cleared her throat. "I'm sure that April wanted to talk today, but found herself nervous. I'm nervous too, actually." Was that her voice shaking? Was it from hunger? Grief? Fear of the new dangers in town? Fear from the fact that even though Klaus was gone, there was a new hunter and someone killing people in droves?

"The worst day of loving someone is the day you lose them." She heard a drip of something thick . . . and it smelled . . .

"Did you hear something?" Elena heard Caroline whisper.

"Blood," Tyler whispered.

"Nobody move. Don't turn around, it's a trap," Damon announced to their small listening supernatural community.

"The hunter is trying to smoke us out," Kol observed admiringly, "he's smart." His voice turned dark, "I'd appreciate it more if he weren't trying to kill us."

Elena breathed heavily through his mouth, "And . . . I . . . um," and suddenly Steph's arms were around her. The shorter vampire's arms were strong as they circled Elena, and Steph's footsteps were assured as she led her away.

"I got you," Her friend whispered, "come on, let's get you back sitting." The new Pastor's voice was soft in the background as he asked everyone to open their bibles.

"Stephanie, the blood," Elena gasped quietly.

"I know," Steph said grimly and she took Elena to Damon, where she passed off her friend into his arms. "Here, focus," She whispered as Elena stuck her nose into Damon's neck. "Breathe slowly."

"What's the matter with her?" Matt hissed.

"She's hungry and she hasn't fed," Stephanie murmured.

"Then get her out of here," Matt told her.

"We can't, there's someone watching us," Stephanie replied. Even so, her eyes swept the church, searching for the hunter to no avail.

"Here, Elena," Damon said and guided her face to an artery in his own neck. "This'll tide you over until we get out of church." Elena's face was already changing.

"Are you sure?" Stephanie asked him. "Have you shared before?"

"No, but it'll be fine," Damon hissed and Elena gripped him tightly; he gripped Elena's elbows in response.

"You know how overwhelming it is the first time," Stephanie shot back.

"We can handle it." Their voices were mostly background noise to Elena as her fangs slipped through her gums and then into the pale skin of Damon's neck. Blood gushed into her mouth and she drank hungrily – the only thing that kept her quiet was the pressing knowledge that they were surrounded by humans and an apparently supernatural hunter. A moment later, Elena felt something more than her hunger sated; she could actually feel Damon in her mind. It was a burst of pure Damon; spice and protectiveness and insecurity and love.

She was soon lost in him and felt herself open up and knew that he felt the same – he was lost in the sea of her thoughts as much as she in his.

Suddenly hands were gently prying them apart, a feminine voice apologetically saying that they were beginning to attract attention.

Elena came back to herself and felt full for the first time since she'd turned. She looked up at Damon's face, his serene face.

"What was that?" She whispered dreamily.

"Blood sharing," Elena was pleasantly surprised to find that his tone matched hers; happy and sated. "Like I said, vamp sex." She would scold him later. The wound on his neck healed, though a tiny part of her wished that some mark would be left – Damon Salvatore was _hers_.

"I feel like a voyeur," Kol complained and that snapped Elena back to the present sharply. They were in a church, surrounded by humans and a crazy hunter.

"Blood, I still smell it," Elena stated, "I think it's April."

"Then we need to help her," Jeremy joined their quiet conversation. "If she's in trouble, we have to help. She doesn't know about any of this supernatural stuff and I think it would be best if we kept it that way."

"We can't help her without exposing ourselves to the hunter," Stephanie explained.

"Excuse me," A voice interrupted at the microphone and everyone turned their heads. It was Tyler. "I would like to say a few words."

"What is he doing?" Caroline hissed.

"Giving us time," Steph realized.

"No, he's providing a distraction," Damon said just as a bullet tore through the air and buried itself into Tyler's chest. Everyone immediately screamed and the people scrambled, rushing to get out of the building in case the shooter came for them next. Damon jumped from his seat. "I'm going after the hunter."

"I'll come too," Kol announced.

"You can't help," Damon told him scathingly, "because of that spell Bonnie put on you. S what are you going to do?"

"Be your cheerleader, of course," Kol said cheekily.

"Right," Damon rolled his eyes and they quickly ran out of the sanctuary and went to locate the hunter. In the front of the room, Carol had dropped down next to her son while someone called an ambulance. Caroline sprinted to his side as fast as she could without being suspicious, and fretted. She ripped out the stake that pierced his chest from the gun.

Stephanie and Elena joined them after sending their human and witch friends out of the Sanctuary.

"I'm gonna find that bastard and kill him," Tyler choked out when Steph and Elena got to them.

"Damon is way ahead of you," Stephanie informed him and then turned to Elena, "I'm going after him." She chased after Damon and Kol, only to find them both riddled with bullets and lying on the cold, hard ground.

"Where' the Hunter?" She demanded. "And are you okay?" She leant Damon a hand.

He coughed, clasped her hand and let her pull him up. "He shot at us and would have killed me."

"But I saved him," Kol smirked, "so, you're welcome."

"Thanks, Kol," Stephanie said honestly and then repeated, "but where did the Hunter _go_?"

Damon waved a hand. "Off. Thataway."

"What happened back in the church?" Kol asked.

"They called an ambulance and they'll probably put Tyler in the hospital for appearances. Elena and Caroline are with him," Stephanie explained and they could hear the sirens. "Matt, Bonnie, and Anna and Jeremy left together."

The three vampires looked after the hunter's truck. His door was lying on the cement ground. "Do I want to know?" Stephanie asked.

"Got a bit enthusiastic," Kol shrugged.

.

.

.

Night had fallen, and Matt and Jeremy stood at the bar in the Grill. Anna was behind the counter, and Matt about to join her. They had to pay the bills somehow, after all, and somehow the Grill was still open despite the memorial and then the shooting.

They'd found Elena and everyone after the fact and learned that April had been tied up and injured above their heads the entire time. Caroline and Elena had clearly been leaving something out, but they weren't saying a word about it otherwise.

Bonnie and Kol had disappeared.

"I didn't get a chance to ask," Matt said, "but how are you? Um, how was the flight from Denver?"

"Fine," Jeremy rubbed a hand across his face. "I can't believe Alaric's dead though. I mean – he was like a dad to us. And then apparently he went evil. And then he died. All while I was at Denver, because Elena thought I needed to be protected. I kind of understand and I miss the normalcy a bit but I'm also really pissed at her and Damon and Stephanie."

"Sorry, shouldn't have asked," Matt muttered.

"It's cool," Jeremy sighed. "I needed to get that off of my chest."

"Not to mention," Anna popped her head around the counter, "Stephanie's free from Klaus' compulsion and the big guy is desiccating underground right now. So, there's a plus."

"There's that, too," Jeremy muttered. "I don't know to say to her. I'm glad you're back, but I'm really confused about what I feel for you now?"

Matt and Anna shrugged.

Jeremy's phone buzzed and he looked at it. "Speaking of, I just got a text to meet her somewhere. Says to bring you guys too."

Matt and Anna exchanged glances. "Might as well," Anna said and then hopped over the counter. She and Matt clasped hands and went ahead. Jeremy looked at the guy sitting a couple of seats down and noticed his very expansive tattoo.

"Nice ink," He called and the man glanced up, surprised.

"Come on, Jeremy," Matt called.

Jeremy caught up to them, and Matt clapped a hand to his back. "I heard you back there; but Jeremy, that man didn't have a tattoo."

"Yeah, he did."

.

.

.

Jeremy, Matt, and Anna went to the meeting place - the high school, ironically – and found that everyone else was already there. Everyone but Bonnie and Kol, that was.

"What are we doing here?" Damon asked as soon as the trio seated themselves on a picnic table.

"We're finishing the memorial we didn't get to have," Stephanie replied and began to hand out paper lanterns. "We've all lost so much, especially recently, we've all become numb to it. We joke about it, push it away . . . we need to just let ourselves grieve."

"So we're lighting paper lanterns?"

"Yeah. It's what we need to do," Steph said firmly.

"No, Stephanie, what we need to do is find Kol and make his ass tell us everything else he knows about the hunter, and then find the hunter, and kill him. We have more important things to be doing right now than this."

Steph ignored him and took a paper lantern and lit it. "This is for my Uncle Zach and for Alaric."

"This is for Vicki," Matt joined her.

"This is for my dad, and for Tyler's," Caroline said and lit hers.

"This for our parents, for Vicki, Jenna, and Alaric." Jeremy said and handed a lantern to Damon.

He lifted his hands. "No way. Not doing it."

"Damon, please," Stephanie murmured.

"Not tonight, Stephanie." He turned around and strode away to his car and everyone heard the door slam shut and then it sped off.

Anna took a lantern in his wake. "This is for my mom."

Elena took a breath and then a lantern. "So, this is for my mom, my dad, Jenna . . . everyone that we've all lost, everyone this town has lost . . . and for me, I guess." One by one, they let the lanterns fly away into the dark sky.

.

.

.

"They're floating lanterns into the sky, can you believe that? Japanese lanterns are a symbol of letting go of the past . . . well, guess what? We're not Japanese! You know what they are, though? Children. They're all children, thinking that lighting candles or saying a prayer will make all of our problems go away. Or pretending that Elena won't end up like all the rest of us murderous vampires . . . they're all stupid and delusional." He took a sit of his bourbon. Adjusted his position on Alaric's headstone. "And I know what you're going to say. 'It makes them feel better, Damon.' Well, for how long? A minute? A day? What difference does it make? Because in the end, when you lose somebody, every candle, every prayer is not going to make up for the fact that the only thing you have left is a hole in your heart where that person used to be. And a rock. And a birthday card that I'm pretty sure spelled your name wrong. So thanks, friend. Thanks for leaving me to babysit. I'm stuck here taking care of the kids."

Damon sighed and stood, leaving the headstone behind.

"I miss you, buddy."

.

.

.

"I want to do it."

Kol looked up curiously from his place on the couch. "Hm?"

"I'm tired of going to funerals. I'm tired of going to memorials. That text from Stephanie? She wanted us to have a memorial for everyone we lost. I'm tired of needing to do that, Kol. I'm just so tired of death."

"What, exactly, do you propose I do about that, darling?" Kol asked quietly.

"Nothing," Bonnie said flatly, "There's nothing you can do. But there's something I can do."

"What's that?" Kol could feel the anticipation crawling up his skin.

"I'm going to use the sacrifice to channel Expression," Bonnie announced. "And then I'll finally be strong enough to kill people like Klaus – I'll be able to help my mom by giving her magic back. I can protect myself. I can protect my friends." She whirled onto Kol, dark eyes flashing. "But, first, you're going to explain everything you know about the hunters."

Kol eyed her carefully. The hunters were dangerous and he'd been planning on sharing at least some of the information eventually, but if she thought he would only part with it for a trade . . . "What's in it for me?"

"I'll give you your magic back when I channel Expression," Bonnie promised. "But I refuse to remove the spell that keeps you from harming other beings."

It was the thing that Kol had wanted for centuries – the goal he'd been trying to reach this entire time – all traded for some information he'd have given – for the most part – freely. He could hardly contain his glee. "Alright, then. The first thing you need to know is about a man called Silas - Silas is an immortal witch, but temporarily put down and will stay that unless someone releases him. The second thing you need to know is that you should _never_ release Silas. I've traveled with witches, darling, and most were of the same opinion; Silas is a force not to be trifled with."

"Why?" Bonnie wondered.

"He'll bring hell on earth," Kol warned darkly, "Just ask your mum about that. He wants to drop the veil to the Other Side for various reasons, which would release all of the dead supernaturals – and I mean every single one that has ever died since the dawn of time." Seeing Bonnie's horror, he nodded. "See? And you all thought that I was evil.

"There was only ever one coven that held Silas in high esteem. I made sure to get rid of them before they could raise him from whatever pit he's in.

Bonnie clearly disapproved of his killing, but she said nothing about it. "What else?"

"Qetsiyah. All I know is that she's his vengeful lover and the one who put him down," Kol shrugged. "She was a witch as well. It was one of her descendants that created the Five – they wanted to further her mission to make sure Silas was destroyed. And there's only one way to really kill him."

"So the Five only want to kill Silas? Then why attack Tyler and the vampires here?" Bonnie demanded.

Kol shrugged. "Therein lies our dilemma, little witch. Every other hunter has had a tattoo on his arm; this one, none. It proposes a certain mystery."

"What's the significance of the tattoo?"

"It's a map to the thing that can kill Silas," Kol explained. "No one knows what that is, exactly. The fact that we can't see the tattoo or that it's just not there is a strange thing. I'd have to talk to Nik or Rebekah to see if they knew anything."

"Well, we're not digging up Klaus," Bonnie warned, "and if Rebekah finds out what we did, she'll kill us."

"Elijah might know," Kol offered.

". . . he's loyal to his family and that's it," Bonnie shook her head. "No."

"Well, Finn's not welcome here, so I don't know what to tell you, darling," Kol said. "Anything else you want to know?"

Bonnie thought about for a long moment. "Are you going to leave as soon as I give you your magic back?"

That was certainly not what he was expecting. "Probably not. I've found that I like Mystic Falls. Although, if it's a requirement to give me my magic back, I'll gladly go."

Bonnie was clearly weighing her options; Kol could see the wheels turning in her head. He was a good source of information and he couldn't cause any more trouble now that she'd effectively "neutered" him. Finally, she came to a decision. "No, you don't have to go. But don't mistake this for affection; I still don't like you."

"Of course, darling. I would never."

"Then, let's get down to business. How do I channel Expression?"

Kol smirked.

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.

.

.

Tbc.


	3. sympathy for the devil

Disclaimer: I do not own the vampire diaries or any quotes used.

To (Guest) Clara: Thanks! I'm glad you think so!

Note: I've got a handle on the outline for the rest of this story and I'm going to warn you guys that it veers very far off the season four canon (I mean, not that canon hasn't already radically been changed, but whatever). Not sure if you're happy or sad about that, but it is what it is. I hope you will like the changes.

* * *

**sympathy for the devil**

"_Dig up her bones but leave the soul alone  
Boy with a broken soul  
Heart with a gaping hole  
Dark twisted fantasy turned to reality  
Kissing death and losing my breath  
Midnight hours cobble street passages  
Forgotten savages, forgotten savages."_

_._

_._

_._

Kol's eyes were closed when Bonnie did the spell, so he didn't see the look of concentration, pain, and pure satisfaction on her face as she performed Expression for the very first time.

He didn't see anything real, in fact; everything was unadulterated sensation. His mind was like a bee hive – buzzing and vibrating with new and old information. His whole body was tingling and shaking – he could feel adrenalin coursing through his veins, along with all of his borrowed blood. His heart pumped erratically and Kol felt a genuine smile spread across his lips. He could feel his very soul reaching out and the tendrils of his thoughts connecting with the hum of nature for the first time in over a thousand years.

How it all went so wrong, so quickly.

The shaking turned into violent convulsions and Kol's eyes flew open and rolled back into his head. All sound disappeared and the world went black, but the pain, oh God the pain and the feelings and thoughts of the natural world burned him. Kol must have dropped to the floor at some point because his head banged against the hardwood floor, but he barely felt the impact. His body jerked and seized until finally, everything turned brightbrightbright.

Kol blinked open his eyes slowly and oh God even that hurt. Everything ached – places that had never before felt pain were raging now. The ceiling was the only thing he could initially see, but if he turned his head –ever so slowly – Kol could make out Bonnie's prone form lying a few feet away from him. Her body was splayed out awkwardly, like a puppet, and her eyes were pure white as they gazed into Kol's.

"Bonnie?" His voice was croaky and his throat sore. Had he been screaming?

Bonnie blinked and the white dissolved into the usual dark brown, but the memory of their unnatural color was burnt into Kol's retinas. Bonnie lifted her head and propped herself up by her arm. "Kol? How do you feel?"

He barked a derisive laugh and almost threw up. "When I'm able to articulate more than a sentence at a time, I'll let you know." He fought his way into a sitting position and put his hands onto his knees. The buzzing in the back of his head was worse now, but if he focused, it wasn't necessarily bad. It was – almost familiar.

"Well?" Bonnie asked, "Did it work?" She dragged herself to her knees and then plopped down onto her couch. Kol didn't answer and instead reached for that familiar feeling – ah – yes, there it was. He looked over at her and murmured underneath his breath – and all of the CDs and DVDs and books on the shelves rose higher and higher. The curtains opened and the sink ran and Kol beamed.

"Bonnie Bennett, I could kiss you, darling," Kol breathed in wonder.

"Please don't," She muttered, but she was smiling a little too, at the fact that she had performed an extremely strong form of magic successfully the first time she tried it.

"How does Expression feel?" Kol demanded.

"It's . . . like nothing I've ever felt before," Bonnie looked like she was grasping for words, but they would not come. "It's just . . . beautiful. I've never felt so strong before in my life."

Kol muttered another ancient word and all of the things he'd levitated drop. He dragged himself up to his feet, still wincing. "I – thank you, Bonnie, really." It almost physically pained him to say, "I suppose I owe you one." Bonnie nodded absent mindedly.

"What – what have you done?" The two witches looked up and saw Abby standing at the base of the staircase, looking horrified. One of her hands was clutching her shawl around her neck, knuckles pale from the pressure she was exerting. The other was at her mouth, covering her lips in her shock.

"Mom, I can explain," Bonnie said quickly, happily, "I can give you your magic back!"

Abby was not nearly as thrilled. "Bonnie, you've gone against nature – against the spirits!" Abby shouted.

"I don't answer to the spirits anymore, Mom," Bonnie shook her head. She had to make her mother understand. "And neither do you. Come here." She went to her mother, but Abby ghosted across the room. Kol met her mid stride and restrained the young vampire in his strong arms. He looked up and met Bonnie's gaze.

"What have you done, Bonnie?" Abby demanded again and struggled in Kol's tight grasp. He didn't let go.

"I've channeled Expression, and so I can help you now," Bonnie explained, but if anything, Abby's frenzied movements turned even more hysterical.

"Bonnie!" Abby shrieked. "Why?" Her eyes were rounded and her hands trembling.

"Mom!" Bonnie was near tears. "Everything's fine, I didn't hurt anyone. Just listen to me!"

"No! You've got to purge that magic out of your system, Bonnie Bennett!" Abby turned furious eyes onto Kol. "And reclaim that magic you've given to that monster!" Kol recoiled sharply; he acutely aware of the emptiness he'd feel if Bonnie took it away again. He couldn't ever let that happen.

Bonnie tore her hands through her hair and turned large eyes onto Kol. "Take her memories away. Keep from remembering this."

"Bonnie, no," Abby shook her head.

"Mom, you don't understand," Bonnie explained, even as Kol eagerly snatched Abby again and made eye contact. He wouldn't lose his magic now that he'd just gotten it back. Never again.

"Bonnie . . ."

Kol compelled Abby. "_You won't remember this conversation. You have no recollection of Bonnie wielding Expression or I performing magic . . ."_

Bonnie bit her lip. "Have her go on a vacation. Jamie misses her."

"_Jamie misses you. You're going to go home and visit him for a few months. You'll email and call regularly."_

Abby blinked. "Bonnie, I hate to leave, but I just have this feeling that Jaime misses me . . ."

.

.

.

Tyler lay in his hospital bed, head resting on the pillow, body warm beneath the blankets. His chest had healed up fine, but for appearances' sake, he was staying, mostly for his mother. He even had a guard outside his room to make sure the shooter didn't return to finish the job . . .

There was the sound of scuffing shoes and then the hall was alive with the sounds of wrestling bodies and hard punches. Tyler's eyes snapped open. He lifted his head and then leapt out of his bed, hiding in the shadows of the hospital room. He waited. The door opened and the hunter strode inside carefully. Tyler jumped off the wall and onto the guy's back, but Connor had him by the throat with a needle in his veins only seconds later with his preternatural speed. The hybrid tried to move, but the hunter only smirked and held him tighter.

"Don't bother; it's paralytic." He reached down and opened Tyler's mouth, inserting a needle. He slowly withdrew something, werewolf venom Tyler's panic mind presumed, and then he put the liquid into a vial. "Thanks for the donation," The hunter said sardonically, "It'll go towards a good cause." And then the he was gone. Tyler strained against the paralytic poison in his veins and managed to get to his feet, but by the time he was able, Connor Jordan was gone.

.

.

.

Stephanie had woken that morning feeling the bloodlust; hunger gnawed at her belly, clawing its way through her throat. And so she'd taken to distracting herself. She got up, showered and dressed in skinny jeans, a pale blouse and boots, done up her hair, and went to work on her motorcycle that she kept stashed away in the garage.

Damon found in her the front yard, hours later. "Today looks like a nice day for a mid-life crisis."

"Yeah, well," Stephanie shrugged. "I was hungry." She averted her eyes and tried not to think about Jeremy or Klaus. Or blood.

Damon nodded and crossed his arms. "I'm off to save to the day again. Tyler was werewolf-venom jacked this morning and so now the hunter has some ready-to-go vampire poison bottled and ready to sell. I've got to go and fix it." He rolled his eyes.

"How are you planning to do that?" Stephanie felt compelled to ask. Really, Damon had some shortsighted plans.

"Well, I'm going to find him, and then I'm going to eat him," Damon said like it was the most obvious thing in the world, and Steph supposed that to Damon, it was. But really, like she said, shortsighted.

"I'll come with you," She offered. Anything to get her mind off of the burning hunger and it had the added bonus of keeping Damon out of trouble.

"Actually, I was thinking you could keep an eye on Elena while she goes to school today," Damon admitted, "You know, kind of a I-Suck-At-Being-A-Vampire Support Group." He smiled.

"Yeah, um, how is she doing, by the way? Is she eating anything besides your blood now?" Stephanie inquired.

Damon wiggled his brows. "Well, while blood sharing is oh so much fun – and she agrees with me – it's not the most satisfying, as you well know after snacking on Klaus, so we worked something out with Matt."

"And Anna doesn't mind Elena macking on her boyfriend?" Stephanie asked sardonically.

"Eh. Elena trusts Matt and Matt trusts Elena. Elena doesn't want to snack on her brother and Bonnie's out of reach, training her pet Original. Last option kind of thing, I assure. Anna will get over it."

"What about a stranger?" Stephanie questioned.

"Well, considering most of the town is on vervain, that's a little painful," Damon shrugged. "I wouldn't subject anyone to tell." His face turned thoughtful. "Although, I might be able to think of _someone_ . . ."

"And _you_ don't mind her macking on Matt?" Stephanie asked pointedly. She tapped her thigh with her fingers, full of nervous energy.

Damon purposefully looked up towards the sky; an aversion tactic. "Of course not. It's for survival."

"And blood bags won't suffice?" Stephanie asked dryly.

"We don't want her to turn into a ripper, now, do we? Blood bags aren't the real deal and I want her to be prepared around actual living, breathing, and 96.4 degree people," Damon explained, "So no, blood bags won't suffice." Stephanie nodded. She knew the difference intimately. "So, have fun at school, little sister, and let the grown-ups handle everything else." Damon finished and the waved a hand at Stephanie. "Go on. Have fun laughing at the stupidity of the modern educational system."

Stephanie rolled her eyes, but swung a leg onto her motorcycle anyway and revved it, driving off and leaving Damon in the dust. She arrived at school to find Matt walking away from a shaded corner, tucking a white bandaged wrist into his sleeve and giving her the side-eye. Anna met him at the school doors, looking distinctly unhappy but trying to trudge through the unpleasantness. She caught Stephanie watching and turned her head away.

Stephanie met Elena coming out of the same shadowed corner and waved. The vampires met in the parking lot and a yellow flyer caught their attention. Elena picked up and read. "There's a town curfew?"

"Tyler did get shot in front of everyone at a memorial," Steph pointed out dryly. "It would have looked like an assassination attempt at the Mayor's son to everyone else."

"If only they knew the real story," Elena rolled her eyes. They walked into school together and went to their new history class with a new history teacher. Elena closed her eyes and held her breath – Stephanie empathized. The pounding of everyone's hearts around her was about to drive her crazy.

_Thump._

_Thump._

_Thump._

"What a pair," Stephanie said lightly to diffuse the tension, "a newborn vampire and a rehabbing ripper going to school. I'm sure there's a punch line in there somewhere." Elena breathed out and giggled. Then she teared up. "This is the first time we've been in Alaric's classroom without him," Stephanie murmured in realization.

"First period and I'm ready to fall to pieces," Elena agreed. Suddenly there was a ruckus going on in the front of the room and the two vampire girls looked up to see someone they'd never thought they'd see in a school building – or any kind of learning institution really.

"Welcome one, welcome all to my anti-curfew party at my new mansion," Kol Mikaelson bore a shit eating grin on his face as he handed out brightly colored flyers. "There will be a keg, illegal drugs, and a whole lot of loud music. Hello, darlings, how are you?"

"And just like that, I'm not feeling sentimental anymore," Elena muttered and she sank in her seat.

"Hello Kol," Stephanie said pleasantly and the Original's grin turned luminescent.

"You two are, of course, invited," He smirked and handed them both flyers. "Parties are usually Rebekah's sort of thing, but I figured since she was in New Salem I'd throw one in her honor. The curfew is the sort of thing she'd boycott, anyway."

"Thanks, Kol," Elena deadpanned. "A party was just what we needed."

"Brilliant." Kol moved away in all of his happy energy, and Stephanie leaned over to whisper into Elena's ear.

"Is it just me or is there something seriously wrong with a _legitimately happy_ Kol Mikaelson?"

Elena snorted. "I smell disaster in the air. We aren't really going, are we?"

"Why not?" Stephanie asked. "Like I said, we're both hungry for blood and alcohol curbs the edge. It might be helpful."

"Keep saying that and I'll turn into an alcoholic before I'm thirty," Elena groaned. "You know, I'd always wondered if you guys just said that so you had an excuse to drink to excess, but then I actually turned into a vampire."

Stephanie smiled. And then it immediately turned into a frown as she saw someone pass in the hallway. "What is it?" Elena asked, twirling a piece of her long, pin straight brown hair around a finger.

"It's the hunter." Stephanie narrowed her eyes.

"What?" Elena immediately looked up.

"The hunter is here at school," Stephanie explained, and they quickly rose from their seats and took off after him.

.

.

.

"Do you mind telling me who you are and why I'm here? I'm happy to his miss Bio, but . . ." Jeremy trailed off. Actually, he kind of wanted to go to Biology so he could find a seat next to April. He found that the more time he spent with her, the less he spent agonizing over Stephanie and their relationship; and the less time dwelling on that, the better. He'd been apprehended by the strange man – who was deceptively strong – he'd complimented in the Grill the other night, and dragged into an empty classroom.

"I've been looking through your family's history," The man said and then tossed a file onto Jeremy's desk. "You and your sister have been through quite a lot of trauma in the last couple of years. First your parents died, your friend Vicki Donovan, then your aunt passed, and then your foster dad . . . you just attended funeral after funeral."

"What are you, a social worker?" Jeremy asked, knowing full well that this man was no social worker. He wasn't the type. "What do you care, anyway?"

"Because you saw this." The man rolled up his sleeve to expose his huge black tattoo.

"It's a . . . tattoo, big deal," Jeremy scoffed. What was this guy's deal? Jeremy hadn't thought that there was anyone more psychopathic that Klaus, but this man was proving him wrong . . .

"I call it a Hunter's Mark, as in a vampire hunter," The man said and the pieces of the puzzle suddenly clicked together, making Jeremy's heart race.

"Vampire? Haha, look, I'm sorry man, but that's a little . . ." Jeremy drawled off and hoped he was convincing enough.

"Jeremy," Connor Jordan stepped in front of him and looked down his nose at the teenager. "Like I said, I know your family's history in this town. So you playing dumb . . . just . . . makes you look . . . dumb." Through the tiny window of the classroom door, Jeremy caught sight of Stephanie's serious face. Relief filled him; despite their relationship problems, Jeremy knew he could always count on Stephanie to step in and save the day – at least, when she was sane. Elena appeared just behind her and both girls inclined their heads. Jeremy nodded.

"Well, why the show and tell? I don't even know you," Jeremy stated.

"Because the tattoo is invisible," The Hunter stated and Jeremy felt confusion rise in his gut, "to anyone other than a hunter or a potential hunter. So find me a vampire, and I'll train you. Teach you everything I know. I'm on Hudson off of route 13. Don't show up until you find a vampire." He started to walk away.

"How am I supposed do that?"

"Why don't you start by asking your friend with a bandage on his wrist?" Connor disappeared out of the door. Several moments later, Steph and Elena were crowding in the classroom, fluffed up and full of concern. It was always like it used to be.

But then Stephanie and he met eyes and Jeremy felt all of the tension between them simmer and boil over; her capillaries beneath her eyes grew dark and she looked down and took a step away. Jeremy licked his lips.

Elena was ignorant of the interaction as she patted Jeremy down as if searching for injuries. "What happened? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah," Jeremy brushed her off gently. When Elena didn't stop, Jeremy stilled her hands with his. Quietly, he murmured, "I'm fine, Elena. He just said spouted some crock about me being a Potential and then he gave me his address. I'm going to give it to Damon so he can check the place out."

"A potential what?" Stephanie questioned.

"A potential hunter."

"What does that even mean?" Elena demanded. "You'll become like him?"

Jeremy could only shrug helplessly, but whatever emotions of fear he'd felt were gone; now, he was only curious.

.

.

.

Damon received a text from Jeremy about the hunter's home location, and immediately went to investigate the place. It was a trailer a little off the road, but easy enough to find. Damon parked his car and stepped out, slowly taking in the trashy mobile home.

"Gotta say, it's not much," He said to himself and he slammed the car door shut. Damon loped to the front door, tapped on it and listened for any human occupation but there was none. He jiggled and then snapped the lock and opened the door. Damon stuck a foot forwards, but when he met no resistance, made his way inside. The trailer was full of a bunch of unfamiliar tech, and some vampire hunting gear, including stakes and loaded guns. Damon was painfully reminded of Alaric. "No time for nostalgia," He muttered.

Then his eyes wandered and it became very clear that Connor was no Alaric Saltzman; there were bottles of strange substances and papers strewn everywhere. He reached for one that looked like a letter and immediately two arrows flew out of nowhere and stabbed in the belly and the chest.

He choked.

Attached to the ends of the arrows were white strings that were connected to a bomb. Damon scowled and tried to pull one of the strings to test – the bomb rattled and he very quickly released the string. "Yeah, I'm gonna need some help." Carefully as to not trigger another flying arrow, he reached around for his phone and rapidly texted Stephanie.

HELP. COME ALONE.

.

.

.

Tyler was incredibly bored and he wasn't sure when he'd last been _this_ uninterested in anything, ever. After his werewolf venom jacking at the hospital, his mother had brought him home and essentially said he was on house arrest until this Connor guy was found and dealt with. For once, Tyler hoped Damon found the guy first.

He tossed his football into the air from his prone position on the couch and caught it again. Repeat. Repeat five more times.

"So, this is where you've been hiding all this time."

Tyler craned his head back and caught sight of someone he hadn't thought he'd ever see again; she had wavy dark hair and matching eyes, a playful grin on her face, and beautiful tanned limbs with corded muscle beneath the skin.

"Hayley?" He demanded and he was already half way off the couch. He went over at the same time she charged towards him.

"Hey, Lock-wolf," She smirked and they collided into a warm hug. Tyler's arms went around her, resting on her hips and felt her strong hands on his shoulders. They laughed.

"I should have called you," Tyler said, tone turning apologetic.

"From your trailer park in Florida? You're such a dirty, rotten liar, Tyler," Hayley accused, but she was smiling as she said it so Tyler supposed he was in the clear. She spun around in a circle, pretty mouth dropped into an 'o' of awe as she took in his house. "This place is incredible. You're totally loaded!" Tyler pulled a 'Who, me?' face and lifted his hands from his sides, but Hayley wasn't finished. "I chained you up all over the Appalachians, I talked you through every turn, I helped you break the Sire bond; you could have told me that you were filthy rich." She hopped up onto an antique table and leaned forwards.

"Well, I never would have dreamed that you would follow me back here," Tyler said pointedly. "I didn't _want _anyone to follow me back. Werewolves aren't safe around Klaus and he may be out of the picture right now, but I doubt it will stay that way."

"What do you mean?" Hayley asked. "Didn't your witch friend do something about him?"

Tyler shrugged. "The guy is sneaky. And he's escaped before."

"Well, for now, I'm safe," Hayley declared, "and the least you could do right now is poor me some fancy rich people Scotch." She arched one perfectly shaped brow at him and Tyler felt something in him break.

"Fine," He admitted defeat. "I will absolutely pour you some Scotch. Have a seat."

.

.

.

Stephanie left Elena and Jeremy to themselves, promising to meet up with Elena at Kol's party, and then went to sort out Damon's mess. She went to the address Jeremy had texted to Damon and found a solitary white trailer in the middle of nowhere. Steph crunched the grass with her boots as she strode up to the door of the trailer and tore it open to see that Damon was standing in the center of the trailer, two arrows embedded into his flesh.

"Damon!"

"Don't move!" His voice was like a whip in the silence of the trailer.

"Why were you being so cryptic? And why won't you let me help you now that I'm here?" Steph demanded, hands on hips.

"Come here," Damon commanded, "but slowly. Cautiously. Don't touch anything."

Steph crept forwards and her green eyes widened fractionally. "Is that a bomb? Please don't tell me that's a bomb, Damon."

"Fine," He went for what managed to be a half shouldered shrug. "It's not a bomb. It's a kitten – an adorable, exploding kitten."

Steph fought the urge to smack her brother. Instead, she said, "Hold still," and she quietly and surefootedly made her way over to Damon's side. "Now, I'm going to have cut some pieces to tear the arrows out. Do whatever it is you need to do to keep_ that_," She inclined her head to the bomb, "from exploding and killing us."

"I just have to not move," Damon assured her, "and that'll be a cake walk."

"You say that now," Steph warned. "Just wait until I have my hands in your chest cavity as I pull those out."

Damon winced at the thought and Stephanie grabbed a dagger off of the counter. She used both her strength and sharp end of the weapon gouge out the arrows, one and at time. As she did this, Damon reached for the letter he'd tried to grab before.

"Did you know the weird and nutsy Pastor Young at all before his kidnapping attempt?"

"Not really, no," Steph muttered and her tongue poked out of her mouth in concentration. Her fingers were deft and she prodded the arrow. The wound was grotesque looking – it kept healing over the wood and festered a little with some werewolf venom.

"Well, this letter he wrote is about sacrifice and war in Mystic Falls. He mentions a greater evil is coming," Damon read aloud. "Creepy."

"Crazy dude," Steph agreed and then she sighed. "Here, I think this should be good." She tore out the arrow cleanly and Damon breathed a sigh of relief. "One more to go."

Damon groaned.

.

.

.

Matt walked through the halls of the high school and besides Anna and Kol Mikaelson, he didn't see any of the people he usually associated with. Anna was in Pre-Calc. and Kol was handing out stacks upon stacks of flyers for his anti-curfew party in a strangely good mood. No one else was in school, or if they were, they weren't hanging around with him. Matt forced himself to not be bitter.

"What's that on your wrist?"

Matt stilled and turned around. Leaning against the cement bricked wall was the hunter, Connor. He was deceptively calm. "I cut myself."

"Do you think I'm stupid?" Connor asked. He pushed himself forward and Matt took a step back. Connor followed. He grabbed Matt's wrist and ripped off the bandage Anna had carefully applied that morning, revealing bloodied, bruised holes. "Who are you letting feed on you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Matt said evenly.

"Are you sure about that?" Connor took hold of Matt's shirt front and dragged him into a corner and pushed him up against a wall. Matt had to lean forwards to avoid getting his head knocked against the stone wall. Connor pulled a knife and Matt paled. "Tell me which of your high school friends is a vampire." He put the knife to Matt's neck and put pressure onto his throat, making Matt's pulse skyrocket. "Who is it?"

An image of Kol handing out flyers flashed into his mind. "It's – it's Kol. Kol Mikaelson is a vampire."

Connor's face broke out into a grin. "Thanks buddy. When you wake up, he'll be long gone." Matt felt his head crash against the wall again but this time, everything went dark.

.

.

.

Jeremy, after dodging Stephanie and Elena, went to the address the hunter had given him; he was curious. When he arrived at the trailer, Connor was there, whittling a stake.

"You got me a vampire?" Connor asked without looking up.

"No . . ."

"Then what are you doing here?" The hunter asked, glancing at Jeremy's face.

"I want to know more about this hunter thing," Jeremy admitted.

Connor tilted his head. "You know much about vampires then, Jeremy?"

"Some," Jeremy agreed hesitantly. Jeremy didn't want to give away his sister and the others, but he wanted Connor to trust him enough to let him know what the hell was going on with him.

Connor nodded slowly. "There's a problem with vampires, besides the fact that they are vampires, of course. They spread like a disease – they're an infestation. That's what you've got in this town, Jeremy; an infestation of vampires. One of them is even throwing a party." He stood and slung a bag over his shoulder.

"Is that where we're going? To this party?" Jeremy asked eagerly.

"Nah; as long as there are people drinking at this party, I've got it covered," Connor shook his head. "We're not going anywhere. You're going to find me a vampire or else I'm not telling you anything more. Got it?"

Jeremy licked his dried lips and nodded. "Fine." He turned and started to walk away, leaving the hunter to his whittling. There was no way he'd betray one of his friends and Kol was annoying, but harmless now and un-killable. There had to be a way for this guy to give him some more information . . . or there had to be someone else he could get it from.

But what was that he'd said about the drinks at Kol's party?

.

.

.

Stephanie left Damon to regroup and went to meet Elena at the party. She found her and Caroline milling around the keg, cheering on the football team as one of the group chugged cup after cup of beer. She ghosted to their sides quietly, but they immediately recognized her presence.

"Steph! I'm glad you're finally here," Caroline grinned. "I have to get going – I'm meeting Tyler at his place because his mom put him on like house arrest or something – but I didn't want to leave Elena alone. Now that I know she's in good hands, though . . ." She hugged Steph and then Elena and disembarked to, apparently, check on her home ridden boyfriend.

"Had any beer yet?" Elena offered her a cup. "Caroline declined on the grounds that apparently Ms. Lockwood can smell the stench of alcohol a mile away."

Stephanie took the red plastic cup into her hands. "Knowing that she has Tyler for a son, that doesn't really surprise me."

Elena grinned but the smile faltered when a teenager wandered a little too close. She had to shake herself to keep from going after the girl – and her blood. "I need to get drunk," She announced, "Roaring, raving drunk."

She lifted her glass and Steph tapped hers with it ruefully. "I'll toast to that." They drank and then headed inside. There was no barrier, making Stephanie frown in contemplation.

"We didn't have to be invited in. I wonder who used to live here."

"More like who died here," Elena corrected morbidly. They found Kol ahead of them, socializing. "I wonder what's made him so cheerful. I mean, he's usually sarcastic and gleeful, but it always seemed so artificial. There's something about him now that's . . ."

"Genuine," Steph nodded with narrowed eyes. "I don't know what he's got to be so happy about," She said truthfully, "His brothers are either missing or paralyzed and his sister is miles away."

"Maybe that's why he's happy," Elena said jokingly, "Crazy family drama and everything." Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of April Young. "Hey, look who it is. I'm going to go talk to her."

Stephanie drained her cup of beer. "And I'm going to go find something stronger than this cheap stuff. Have fun talking." She saluted with her cup as Elena disappeared around a corner. She sighed when she was out of sight and went searching for vodka or bourbon or even whiskey. Anything stronger than the watered down American beer Kol was serving by the keg.

Stephanie wandered the cavernous mansion, different from the place Klaus and they had stayed – thankfully – and if it weren't for her vampire senses, she would have gotten herself lost. As it was, she could not find the alcohol cabinet, so had to concede defeat and head back for the main party.

Close to the foyer, Steph found the surprising sight of Anna and Matt making out in a secluded corner. The world tilted sideways at the same time and Stephanie stumbled backwards into an end table with a glass vase. The vase shuddered, but didn't fall, and Anna and Matt were alerted to her presence. Their faces were pulled into almost comical expressions of surprise, and their clothes and hair was askew.

"Sorry! Sorry, I'm going," Steph muttered, shielding her eyes and stumbling away from the couple and into the sunlight. She blinked and the dizziness disappeared. Someone handed her another cup, which Stephanie drank candidly, eager to forget her bout of dizziness and the aroma of blood around her. Across the lawn, she caught sight of Jeremy.

She watched him for a moment; he was smiling, actually grinning, and talking animatedly with someone out of Steph's line of sight. His brown hair was a little spiked and rumpled, and he waved his hands energetically as he spoke. He was happy. Stephanie took a step forwards to join him and maybe say hello, but a fellow partygoer moved and she was able to see who exactly Jeremy was talking to: April Young.

Steph sighed a little mournfully and a realization came to her; their relationship wouldn't ever be what it had been. Their foundation hadn't been strong enough to weather the storms of her ripper days, or if they had been, his time away from Mystic Falls had made the teenager realize something about himself. Maybe he wanted a nice, human life with a sweet, human wife. They could grow graduation high school and go to college and grow old together and have children. It would be normal.

If that wasn't what Jeremy wanted, he would have to take the first step.

Stephanie turned away just in time to see Elena standing on her hands on top of the keg that was lying horizontally on the ground. She had the hose in between her lips and was sucking down the beer like it was water. Steph wandered a little closer and began to clap with her classmates as Elena just kept going. The new vampire finally gave up the hose, just when it was becoming suspicious, and performed an extravagant flip off of the keg.

"Congratulations, but I have to ask, did you get tired of your conversation with April?" Stephanie asked and somehow there was still beer left in the keg, as someone handed her another glass. She drained it.

Elena was grinning ear to ear from her exploits, but the corners of her lips turned down at the mention of the younger girl. "We talked some about her father. Then Jeremy arrived and wanted to speak with her."

Stephanie nodded and reached for another cub. "Nice job, there," She waved a pointed hand loosely at the beer keg.

Elena smiled a little. "Thanks. You ready to go home? I can hear some sirens in the distance; sounds like this party is about to get busted."

"And then all the teenagers here will get tagged, bagged, and shipped back home," Stephanie nodded. "Sure, let's go. My motorcycle is still sitting up front, hopefully."

The vampires made their way out of the mansion to the front, where by some miracle Stephanie's bike was still there and untouched. Stephanie swung her leg over and settled while Elena hopped onto the back and gripped Steph's midsection. "Grab a helmet," Steph instructed and Elena gave her a dry look.

"It's for appearances," Stephanie explained, "and also, you really don't want to scrape your brains back together to heal if we get into an accident." Elena made a disgusted face and quickly pulled her helmet on, making Stephanie smirk. She revved the engine and sped off the property and headed home.

.

.

.

Jeremy excused himself from April's company after a while, and went to do what he'd come to; find his sister and Steph and tell them about Connor's weird behavior about the drinks at the party. But by the time he found them again, they were driving off in Steph's bike. He hollered after them at first, but when they didn't stop, he sighed and lowered his hand.

And he promptly narrowed his eyes when the motorcycle began to wobble. "What the hell?" Jeremy began to jog towards them and the bike swerved sharply to the left. His gate turned into a flat out sprint. The motorcycle had swerved off the road and into an empty field of flowers, throwing her passengers' flying head over handlebars. The bike kept going and then exploded into a hot and bright flurry of fire, and Jeremy had to duck and cover his face to keep from being hit by debris.

"Elena!" He shouted. "Elena! Stephanie!"

Jeremy ran towards where they'd been flung, giving the burning and smoking bike a wide berth, and knelt next to Elena. She was burned all down her arms and around her face and it was healing slowly –too slowly. He gently swatted at her face. Her eyes groggily blinked open, but they were filmy and unfocused. "Elena?" Jeremy whispered. "Come on, wake up." When she continued to blink hazily at him, but nothing else, Jeremy regrettably left her and hopped over to Stephanie's place a few feet away.

"Steph?" She looked tiny in her tattered leather jacket, and her whole body was battered and burned. "Stephanie, hey, come on now. Wake up." Jeremy patted her face to rouse her and got the same reaction as with Elena. He sat back, frustrated. An ugly idea was forming in the back of his brain, but he didn't want to think about it, lest it be true.

But the pieces were coming together and it didn't look pretty. What were the odds that his sister and her friend wouldn't drink at a party; especially when they were both trying to distract themselves from a vampire's primal hunger for blood? Connor had mentioned something in the drinks and only that morning he'd werewolf venom jacked Tyler Lockwood.

"Damn, oh damn," Jeremy cursed and kept up the stream, even as he picked up his phone and dialed Damon's number.

It rang for several seconds, and then when he answered, Damon wasn't happy to hear from Jeremy. "What do you want, little Gilbert?"

"I think I figured out what the hunter did with the werewolf venom," Jeremy said grimly as his eyes swept Elena and Stephanie again. "And it's not good."

"I'm listening."

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.

.

When Kol's vision had started to double and blur, he'd at first thought maybe he'd had enough to drink. But then he began to see dead people.

"Look what you've become," Mikael spat, "Just like any other frat boy throwing a high school party. You're immature and selfish – you throw temper tantrums whenever you get mad. What's it going to take for you to grow up, Kol? You've already _died_."

"No thanks to you. And funny, I thought _you_ were dead," Kol mumbled through stiff lips. The police had come taken the other teenagers away to their homes, but Kol had hidden in the shadows. Now his house was trashed, but empty. His phone kept ringing, which was irritating. "Guess Nik didn't do a well enough job."

"Do not get me started on your brother," Mikael growled.

"Then don't start," Kol snapped and waved an unsteady hand at the apparition. "Go 'way, Father." He pushed himself to his feet and wondered when he'd fallen to the floor. He drunkenly walked through the halls and dragged himself up a staircase to his new bed. He collapsed into it.

"You betrayed me," Klaus suddenly roared from a corner of the room, startling Kol, "for that Bennett witch!"

"She's pretty," Kol admitted, "and she gave me my magic back. It's not like you're really dead or anything. It's just like you've been daggered." Inexplicably, he giggled. His phone rang again.

His mother appeared next to him. "You've committed a terrible wrong, Kol," Esther said disapprovingly, "showing that innocent girl how to channel Expression. What do you think will come of it?" Mikael had disappeared and Klaus was silent in his mother's presence.

"Hush, you, I'm answering the phone," Kol snapped again and finally picked up his cellular phone. "Hullo?"

"Damn you, I've been calling for nearly an hour," Bonnie's harried voice said on the other end. Huh. An hour? "Kol? Kol, answer me."

"Expression will overtake her," Esther warned, "It will blacken her soul, like it did those witches you met when you were a child. You can't think having that much power is good. And look what you have made her do – giving you back your magic is against nature, dear. Do you not feel its anger? You're an abomination, especially now that you're two supernatural things."

"Just like Nik," Kol giggled. "Instead of a werewolf-vampire hybrid, I'm a witch-vampire hybrid."

"Kol!" Bonnie shouted. "What are you talking about?"

"Sorry, Mum's annoying the shite out of me," Kol said blithely and turned away from Esther, "What was that?"

Bonnie became very quiet.

"Kol," She finally said softly, "did you drink the beer?"

"Of course I drank the beer, it's my party," Kol told her and he fell backwards onto his back, head smacking the headboard and then the pillow. "Ow," he said belatedly.

"It was infected with werewolf venom," Bonnie said slowly. "That's why you're hallucinating about your mother."

"And Father and Nik," Kol pointed out.

"And your father and Klaus," Bonnie repeated. "Okay. Kol, is there any spell I can do to fix this? Elena and Stephanie are sick too."

"Nope," Kol popped the 'p'. "I'll heal, I should think," His eyes wandered but he tried to make himself focus. For Bonnie. "But the girls will need Klaus or else they're goners."

"Can't I do anything with Expression? This is why I channeled it," Bonnie demanded. "So I could help my friends."

"Sorry, darling," Kol muttered as Esther shook her head slowly. "You need Klaus."

"Do not let her awaken Niklaus," Esther warned, "That is the one thing you've done right, my son, and that will come undone if you reawaken your brother."

"Shut up!" Klaus roared back into Kol's room. "You shut up!"

"Kol!"

"Sorry, darling, but I really need to stop Mum and Nik from breaking anything," Kol mumbled and then promptly threw up onto the carpet and dropped his cell phone.

.

.

.

Tyler opened his door and a flying flurry of blonde joy jumped into his arms. He automatically put his arms around Caroline and she was grinning at him. "I ditched Kol's anti-ditch party to come be with you." She lowered her voice, "Let's sneak out."

Tyler smiled. "Sorry, Care."

"You're kidding me," Caroline dropped her arms.

"You should go back to the party," Tyler told her, feeling guilty about Hayley hidden away upstairs. "Have fun."

"I'd rather hang out with you," Caroline said and she sounded hurt. Damn it.

"Not right now," Tyler said, shaking his head. "Maybe later."

Caroline stood forlornly at his door. "Okay, I guess. See you later, then?"

Tyler mustered up as warm as a smile as he could. "Of course. I love you." Caroline waved a little and disappeared down the steps.

"So, was that the girlfriend?" Tyler looked up and saw Hayley, standing at the top of the stairs. "What am I, your scarlet woman?"

"I just didn't want Caroline to get jealous. She's a little neurotic," Tyler explained hastily.

"Right."

.

.

.

Damon arrived and he and Jeremy managed to get Elena and Stephanie back to the Boarding House, where their conditions had rapidly deteriorated. Elena was lying in Damon's bed and Steph in her own room, and so Damon was at a loss of who to sit with – so he sat with neither and began to plot.

"So they're poisoned," Damon said to himself and ran a hand through his hair. "Of course they are." He'd called Bonnie, who had been strangely out of contact all day, and she said she would look up some stuff after she made a few calls. He was expecting her to call back any moment now. Footsteps on the stairs drew Damon's attention.

Jeremy was uncharacteristically grim. "They don't look good, Damon. They've both woken up, but the hallucinations have started."

Damon's phone rang shrilly. "Hello?"

"The only thing we can do is revive Klaus," Bonnie's voice was grim and full of an underlying anger. Damon could understand; they'd finally found a way to kill the bastard, and now they needed him? His life was full of irony. "I'm already where we stashed him. It'll just take a second and then he'll be over."

"Are you kidding me?" Damon asked anyway.

"No," Bonnie said gravely. "There's nothing else to do. I'll be over with Klaus as soon as possible." She hung up.

"Wonderful," Damon growled and angrily slammed his phone onto the table. "Just wonderful."

"What?" Jeremy asked sharply. "What did Bonnie say?"

"She has to wake up his Original Ass." Damon brushed passed Jeremy and headed up to check on his sister. She was sitting up in her bed, but her eyes were glazed. He lowered his voice into some variation of the tone he'd used to speak to her with when she was just a little kid. "Hey, Stephie, what are you doing sitting up? You're sick."

Her pallor was ghastly and Damon could see that the venom had blackened her veins. She was sweat drenched and her eyes looked hollow and he could barely stand to look at her, let alone Elena like this.

"Why are you here?" Stephanie suddenly asked.

"Because I'm your brother," Damon told her. "And I care about you."

"You're a liar," Stephanie said, but her gaze was somewhere off to the far left. "A dirty, rotten liar," She whispered and Damon sighed.

"Probably," Damon agreed and he rose. He went next door and found Elena in his bed, laid up and in the same condition as his sister. "Elena?"

She blinked hazily. "Dad?"

Damon deflated.

"Nah," Damon said, "but I think I'm a bit better company." He moved to lie beside her and pulled his girlfriend into his arms. She sank into his embrace.

"Isn't this cozy?" Damon looked up sharply and saw a face he'd never wanted to see again.

"Klaus," Damon curled his lip. He swallowed his pride. "Thanks for coming."

"It was no problem, as soon as your lovely witch friend and my brother woke me up and informed me my beloved and her best friend were bed ridden with werewolf poison," Klaus explained with his ever present grin. It fell, suddenly. "Let it be known that if it weren't for my affections for Stephanie, this wouldn't be happening."

Through his teeth, Damon spat, "I know. Just fix them."

Klaus strode over to the bed and pulled Elena into his arms. He bit into his wrist and then fed it to the young vampire. Slowly, she drank and Damon could see the life – metaphorically speaking – fill her up again. She blinked rapidly and when she saw who she was drinking from, immediately dropped Klaus' wrist.

Klaus' eyes twinkled. "So I see that you know what blood sharing is to a vampire?"

"Yes," Elena ground out.

"Good." Klaus rose and left without another word, leaving the happy couple to themselves. Downstairs, Bonnie was standing in the living room while Kol drunkenly lay on the Salvatore couch. Klaus had decided his punishment for helping put Klaus down would be to suffer it out. The humans Matt and Anna had joined them shortly, along with the bubbly vampire Caroline.

Klaus ignored their presences and went into Stephanie's bedroom. She was prone on her bed, curled up. He ghosted to her side and cradled her face into his hands before he pulled her close to his chest, letting her nose rest against his pulse in his neck. Slowly, her fangs dropped and she bit into him, and Klaus enjoyed the sensation as she pulled the blood from his veins.

When his blood did its work and Stephanie was healed, she immediately ghosted away, nearly spitting fire. "What are you doing here? What was going on?"

"You were ill," Klaus explained blithely and stood, letting the blood on his neck stay there, stained. "Werewolf venom is nasty stuff, love. I had to come and save the day, as they say."

"Get out," Stephanie pointed to the door. "Get out of my house."

"No thanks?" Klaus inquired.

"Thank you, now _get the hell_ _out_," Stephanie snapped.

Klaus smirked. "As you wish, love." And he disappeared down the stairs to find the group waiting for him. "They've been cured, so I think I'll take my brother and leave." Matt rushed up the stairs, and he was followed very quickly by Caroline, but after Klaus scooped up a singing, tone deaf Kol, Bonnie followed him.

"Listen," The little witch said, but Klaus didn't pause. "Listen to me!" The wind whirled around them and it seemed like the very earth rumbled. Klaus stopped dead.

"You're more powerful," He observed tightly.

"Expression is a beautiful thing," Bonnie said emotionlessly.

Klaus' body was taut with raw energy. "So it was true."

Bonnie ignored his statement and pointed a finger into his chest. "Listen," She repeated again, "I'm more powerful now, and I can take you out any time I need to. So behave. And don't hurt Kol."

Klaus quirked an eyebrow.

"He can't defend himself," Bonnie explained further. "Due to a spell I put on him, he can't commit violence. It was a part of our deal."

Klaus' lips thinned. "Take it off."

"No."

"Take it off!"

The earth rumbled again and Klaus was flung off his feet and Kol rolled off in the dirty, still hallucinating and singing off key. "I'm calling the shots now, Klaus. The spell stays, and if you're not careful, I'll slap a matching one onto you." Bonnie straightened up. "Now. Take Kol home and do whatever the hell you're planning. But if you hurt him, I'll find out. If you hurt any of my friends, I will find out. And if you do, I'll end you."

Klaus rose to his feet bitterly and scooped up Kol. "You win this round, witch." Next time, he swore in his head, I'll get you.

Bonnie tilted her head back. "I'll win every round, Klaus. So don't hold your breath."

"Good thing I don't need to breathe, then." Hiking Kol into a fireman's carry over his shoulders, Klaus left the little witch standing alone on the Salvatore Boarding House lawn.

.

.

.

tbc.


End file.
